Chapter 5 - The Only Thing He Could Never Replace
Grant was led out of his own building in handcuffs, sobbing, paraded past his employees and a weeping Sienna, who was currently being read her rights by a second agent in the hallway.
Claire did not stay to watch the spectacle. She had already excised the tumor; she had no interest in watching it bleed.
Six months later, the dust had completely settled.
Grant was serving a mandatory minimum sentence in a federal penitentiary. Sienna had turned state's evidence to avoid jail time, but her reputation was permanently destroyed, rendering her unemployable in the corporate sector.
The pale oak kitchen with the blue ceramic tiles was sold. Claire had no use for a museum of broken promises.
Instead, she sat on the wrap-around porch of a beautiful, sunlit home overlooking Lake Michigan, a property purchased cleanly and entirely in her own name. Inside, she could hear Emily laughing, playing a board game with her friends.
Claire took a sip of her coffee.
May you like
Grant had thought she would beg for him. He had thought she would fight for the house, the money, or the status of being his wife.
He never realized that the only thing of true value in that marriage was Claire herself—her brilliance, her patience, and her grace. She had thanked his mistress, walked out the door, and taken her own power back. And it was the one thing Grant Whitmore could never, ever replace.
