Chapter 7
The custody hearing was set for Friday.
On Wednesday, Derek showed up at my door — alone, disheveled, reeking of whiskey.
"Can we talk? Just you and me. No lawyers, no Alexander."
I should have closed the door. Instead, I stepped onto the porch, leaving it open behind me.
"Talk."
"I don't want to fight you, Lily." His eyes were bloodshot. "I just want to know my daughters. Is that so wrong?"
"You didn't want to know them when you thought I was dead. You never once considered I might have been pregnant. You never checked."
"I didn't know—"
"You didn't care. There's a difference."
He flinched. "I was a terrible husband. I know that now. But those girls deserve to know their father."
"They know their father. He reads them stories every night. He taught Ellie to ride a bike. He held Sophie through every nightmare. That's their father."
"He's a replacement!"
"No, Derek. You're the replacement. And you weren't even good enough for that."
His face contorted. For a moment, I saw the man from the cliff — the one who stood ten feet away and didn't move.
"Vanessa told me to fight dirty," he said quietly. "She has things. Evidence she's been collecting. About Alexander."
"What evidence?"
"I don't know specifics. She never tells me specifics." He laughed bitterly. "She controls everything. She always has. The merger idea, the plan that night, the inheritance — it was all her."
"And you just followed."
"I loved her. I thought—" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I thought."
"Are you here to warn me? Or to negotiate?"
He looked at me with something that might have been genuine regret. "If I drop the custody case and testify against Vanessa, will you let me see them? Once a month. Supervised. Whatever conditions you want."
I stared at him.
The man who ruined my life was offering to betray the woman who helped him do it — in exchange for scraps of fatherhood.
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
"Because Vanessa is planning something for Friday's hearing. Something that will hurt your girls. I don't know what it is, but she's been making calls, meeting people. She doesn't care about the children, Lily. She only cares about the money."
"She wants Alexander's money?"
"She wants everything. The inheritance wasn't enough. The company wasn't enough. She sees your life now — the penthouse, the cars, the name — and she wants that too."
I was quiet for a long moment.
"Go home, Derek. Sober up. If you're serious about testifying, contact Alexander's lawyers in the morning. They'll protect you."
"And the girls?"
"Prove you've changed. Then we'll talk."
He nodded, turned, and walked down the steps. At the bottom, he paused.
"For what it's worth — I'm sorry. For all of it. I was weak and stupid, and you almost died because of it."
"Almost," I repeated.
He left.
I went inside to find Alexander standing in the hallway, having heard everything.
"Do you believe him?" he asked.
"About being sorry? No. About Vanessa having a plan? Absolutely."
Alexander's expression hardened. "Then we prepare for war."
On Wednesday, Derek showed up at my door — alone, disheveled, reeking of whiskey.
"Can we talk? Just you and me. No lawyers, no Alexander."
I should have closed the door. Instead, I stepped onto the porch, leaving it open behind me.
"Talk."
"I don't want to fight you, Lily." His eyes were bloodshot. "I just want to know my daughters. Is that so wrong?"
"You didn't want to know them when you thought I was dead. You never once considered I might have been pregnant. You never checked."
"I didn't know—"
"You didn't care. There's a difference."
He flinched. "I was a terrible husband. I know that now. But those girls deserve to know their father."
"They know their father. He reads them stories every night. He taught Ellie to ride a bike. He held Sophie through every nightmare. That's their father."
"He's a replacement!"
"No, Derek. You're the replacement. And you weren't even good enough for that."
His face contorted. For a moment, I saw the man from the cliff — the one who stood ten feet away and didn't move.
"Vanessa told me to fight dirty," he said quietly. "She has things. Evidence she's been collecting. About Alexander."
"What evidence?"
"I don't know specifics. She never tells me specifics." He laughed bitterly. "She controls everything. She always has. The merger idea, the plan that night, the inheritance — it was all her."
"And you just followed."
"I loved her. I thought—" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I thought."
"Are you here to warn me? Or to negotiate?"
He looked at me with something that might have been genuine regret. "If I drop the custody case and testify against Vanessa, will you let me see them? Once a month. Supervised. Whatever conditions you want."
I stared at him.
The man who ruined my life was offering to betray the woman who helped him do it — in exchange for scraps of fatherhood.
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
"Because Vanessa is planning something for Friday's hearing. Something that will hurt your girls. I don't know what it is, but she's been making calls, meeting people. She doesn't care about the children, Lily. She only cares about the money."
"She wants Alexander's money?"
"She wants everything. The inheritance wasn't enough. The company wasn't enough. She sees your life now — the penthouse, the cars, the name — and she wants that too."
I was quiet for a long moment.
"Go home, Derek. Sober up. If you're serious about testifying, contact Alexander's lawyers in the morning. They'll protect you."
"And the girls?"
"Prove you've changed. Then we'll talk."
He nodded, turned, and walked down the steps. At the bottom, he paused.
"For what it's worth — I'm sorry. For all of it. I was weak and stupid, and you almost died because of it."
"Almost," I repeated.
He left.
I went inside to find Alexander standing in the hallway, having heard everything.
"Do you believe him?" he asked.
"About being sorry? No. About Vanessa having a plan? Absolutely."
Alexander's expression hardened. "Then we prepare for war."