Chapter 2 - The Letter She Left Behind
Susan did not leave the house immediately.
She went upstairs to the bedroom she had shared with Franklin for thirteen years and packed one suitcase.
Not everything.
Only the things that belonged to her before she became Franklin Carter’s wife.
Her passport.
Her mother’s ring.
A photo album.
The blue sweater she wore during their first Christmas together.
The folder containing financial records she had quietly copied over the past year.
Franklin followed her upstairs.
“Susan, please. We can work through this.”
She folded a dress and placed it in her suitcase.
“Did you love her?”
His silence lasted too long.
Susan nodded.
“That is what I thought.”
“I love you,” Franklin said quickly. “I always loved you.”
“You loved that I made your life easy.”
“That is not true.”
“Then tell me what I wanted last year.”
Franklin stared at her.
She waited.
He could not answer.
He did not remember the fertility counseling appointments he skipped. He did not remember the anniversary dinner he canceled. He did not remember that Susan had asked him to sell the unused nursery furniture because seeing it every day was destroying her.
“I wanted a husband who came home,” she said softly.
Franklin sat on the edge of the bed.
“I made a mistake.”
“You made hundreds of choices.”
Then Susan placed a second envelope beside him.
“What is this?” he asked.
“A notice from my attorney.”
Franklin opened it.
His expression changed as he read.
Susan had been the chief financial officer of Carter Industrial before stepping back after their final miscarriage. Franklin had convinced her to take fewer responsibilities, telling her grief was making her work too hard.
But she had continued reviewing the company accounts.
And during that time, she had found questionable transfers.
Consulting payments to companies that did not exist.
Personal expenses disguised as business travel.
A private account Franklin used to fund his relationship with Clare.
“You investigated me?” he asked.
“I protected myself.”
“You are trying to destroy my company.”
“No,” Susan replied. “I am refusing to help you hide from the consequences.”
She zipped her suitcase.
May you like
Then she looked at the man she had once loved more than herself.
“You thought I would be too devastated to leave,” she said. “You forgot that grief teaches a person how to survive what they never thought they could lose.”
