The law office felt sterile and cold despite the expensive leather furniture and polished wood paneling. Margaret sat beside Brandon at one side of the conference table, while two empty chairs waited across from them. The divorce attorney, Patricia Holmes, reviewed the documents one final time."The terms are straightforward," Patricia explained. "Mrs. Carter is waiving all claims to marital property, the house, and Mr. Carter's business interests. This is a clean break with no financial entanglement."Brandon had tried to convince Margaret to take something—she was entitled to it after twenty-four years of marriage—but she'd been adamant. She wanted nothing that tied her to Richard, not even money.The door opened, and Richard walked in with Victoria close behind. Richard looked like he'd aged ten years in the past month. His suit was rumpled, his eyes bloodshot, and his hands trembled slightly as he sat down. Victoria positioned herself beside him like a guard dog, her eyes immediately fixing on Brandon with undisguised hatred."Thank you all for coming," Patricia began. "We're here to finalize the dissolution of marriage between Richard and Margaret Carter. The terms have been agreed upon by both parties. If there are no objections, we can proceed with signatures."She slid the documents across the table. Margaret picked up the pen, her hand hovering over the signature line."Are you serious about this?" Richard's voice cut through the silence.Margaret looked up at him."You're making a huge mistake," Richard continued, his voice rising. "Margaret, forget this nonsense and come home. We can work this out. I know I haven't been perfect, but we can fix things—""No, Richard," Margaret said quietly but firmly. "We can't fix this. I'm not coming back. That place stopped being my home a long time ago."Without hesitation, she signed her name across the bottom of every page.Richard's face contorted with rage. He grabbed the pen with such force that his knuckles turned white, scrawling his signature with violent slashes across the paper."You'll regret this," he hissed, standing abruptly. "Both of you."Victoria glared at Brandon and Margaret before following her father out, slamming the door behind them.Brandon wrapped his arm around Margaret's shoulders. She was trembling, tears running silently down her face, but there was also something else in her expression—relief.---Back at the mansion, Brandon gave Margaret space to process what had just happened. Ending a twenty-four-year marriage, even a terrible one, wasn't something that could be brushed off easily.That evening at dinner, Brandon found her in the dining room staring at her untouched plate."How are you feeling?" he asked gently, sitting across from her.Margaret was quiet for a moment. "I thought I was completely ready to let go, but it still felt hard. Twenty-four years... even when they're bad years, they're still a significant part of your life.""But you did it. You actually signed those papers and freed yourself.""I'm glad I had your support. I don't think I could have done it alone." Margaret managed a small smile. "Though now I feel kind of aimless. For so long, my entire existence was defined by being Richard's wife, Victoria's mother. Now I'm just... me. And I'm not sure who that is anymore."Brandon leaned forward. "Now you get to find out. You can start living for yourself, building something that's yours. I've already booked acting classes for you—some of the best coaches in the industry. If you agree, you can start Monday."Margaret's eyes widened. "Brandon, that's so soon—""You've waited long enough, don't you think? Twenty-four years of putting your dreams on hold. Why wait another day?"Margaret felt something stir inside her—excitement, nervousness, hope all mixed together. "You're right. I won't let your kindness go to waste. I'll start Monday."---Richard stood in his living room, surrounded by destruction. Broken furniture, shattered glass, holes punched in the walls. He'd spent the past hour systematically destroying everything within reach, his rage finally finding a physical outlet.Victoria had left twenty minutes ago, unwilling to be around him when he was like this. She'd learned that lesson the hard way over the years.The police arrived thirty minutes later after neighbors reported the disturbance. Richard had refused to calm down, had pushed one of the officers, and ended up in handcuffs for the second time in a month.---Elena's voice came through Brandon's phone that evening as he stood in his study looking out at the city lights."How'd it go today?" she asked."Margaret signed the papers. She's officially divorced.""That's great. How's she handling it?""Better than I expected, honestly. There's sadness, but also relief. She's ready to move forward with her life.""She's a good woman," Elena said. "She deserves so much better than what that family gave her.""I just hope Richard accepts it and moves on. But I doubt he will.""He won't stop," Elena said seriously. "Men like Richard don't accept defeat. He's going to keep coming at both of you.""I know. And I'll deal with him if he does. He's not going to hurt Margaret again. I'll make sure of it."After they hung up, Brandon stared out at the city he'd helped transform, thinking about the threats that still lingered. Richard was desperate and unpredictable—a dangerous combination.---The next morning, Richard was processed out of jail for the second time in a month. This arrest had been worse—resisting arrest, assaulting an officer. His lawyer had barely managed to keep him from being charged with felonies.As he walked out of the police station, squinting in the bright sunlight, Richard noticed a black town car waiting at the curb. The back door opened, revealing his father.Richard's stomach dropped, but he got in anyway.Harrison Carter looked older than Richard remembered—ninety-two years old and showing every year of it. But his eyes were still sharp, and his voice still carried the authority that had built a business empire."I'm not impressed by your recent actions," Harrison said without preamble.Richard stared straight ahead. "Father, I—""This is the second time you've been arrested in a month. This time for attacking a police officer. It was absolutely the right decision to remove you from the CEO position and replace you with Patrick. You would have destroyed the company by now.""That's not fair. Brandon destroyed my life, my marriage—""I don't want your excuses," Harrison interrupted coldly. "We both know you're to blame for your wife leaving. Margaret put up with your behavior for twenty-four years. The fact that she finally left speaks to your failure as a husband, not her disloyalty."Richard opened his mouth to argue, but his father continued."You've always been reckless, Richard. Always. Do you remember when you got Margaret pregnant at sixteen? I had to clean up that mess. I forced you to marry her because you needed to learn accountability. But you never did learn, did you?""Father, that was decades ago—""And you haven't changed at all. You had a genuine genius working for you—Brandon Carter. Someone who could have made this company truly great. But instead of treating him with respect, instead of recognizing his value, you and Victoria exploited him like he was some kind of indentured servant."Harrison's voice grew harder. "Now he's the richest man alive, and he views the Carters as his enemies. Do you understand how badly you failed? You had a golden opportunity, and you destroyed it through your own cruelty and shortsightedness."The car pulled up to Richard's house—the same house where Margaret had suffered for so many years."I'm giving you an ultimatum," Harrison said. "Get your life together. Stop drinking, stop lashing out, stop blaming others for consequences you created. Or you're out of the company permanently. No position, no office, no salary. Nothing.""You can't do that!""I'm the chairman and majority shareholder. I can do whatever I want. This is your last chance, Richard. Don't waste it."Richard tried to respond, but Harrison had already signaled the driver to unlock the doors. The message was clear—the conversation was over.As Richard stood on his driveway watching his father's car drive away, he felt something he hadn't experienced in years: genuine fear. Not of Brandon, not of divorce, but of losing the last thing that defined him—his connection to Carter Technologies.Inside the empty house that Margaret had finally escaped, Richard collapsed onto the couch and stared at the ceiling, finally beginning to understand that he'd destroyed his own life through his own choices.But understanding and accepting responsibility were two very different things.
