Chapter 8 - The Child Had Nothing to Do With It
Imani almost laughed because the request was so outrageous.
Then she saw Derek’s face.
He was serious.
Margaret spoke first.
“No.”
Derek leaned forward.
“Please listen.”
“Your custody dispute is not part of this divorce.”
“Brooke won’t speak to me.”
“That is not Ms. Richardson’s problem.”
“I know.”
Imani studied him.
“Do you?”
Derek looked at her.
“Brooke moved in with her sister. She says she’s filing for sole custody after the baby is born.”
“Maybe she has reasons.”
“I never hurt her.”
“You lied to her for a year.”
“I lied to you too. That doesn’t mean I’m dangerous to my child.”
Imani said nothing.
Teresa Bell stepped in.
“My client is not asking Mrs. Richardson to testify against Ms. Daniels. He is asking whether she would be willing to confirm that, during the marriage, she never observed violence, substance abuse, or conduct that would suggest he is physically unsafe around a child.”
Margaret looked at Imani.
“That’s your decision.”
Derek’s eyes stayed on her.
This was the first moment in the entire conflict when Imani understood what power actually felt like.
It did not feel exciting.
It felt heavy.
She could punish him with a sentence.
She could exaggerate.
She could imply.
She could let a court assume the worst.
And nobody in the room would blame her emotionally.
Instead she said, “I will tell the truth if I’m lawfully asked.”
Derek exhaled.
“That’s all I’m asking.”
“No,” Imani said. “It isn’t.”
He looked up.
“You’re asking me to save you from the consequences of how Brooke sees you. I can’t do that.”
His shoulders fell.
“But I also won’t lie to hurt you. The baby has nothing to do with what you did to me.”
Something changed in Derek’s face.
Not redemption.
Recognition.
For the first time, perhaps, he understood that integrity was not weakness.
The settlement discussions began that afternoon.
Derek withdrew his demand for a share of Richardson Biotech beyond whatever neutral valuation determined was legally attributable to marital appreciation of Imani’s personal interest.
Margaret believed that amount would be modest because of Patricia’s ownership, outside investment, reinvested earnings, and the company’s structure.
In exchange, Imani agreed not to seek punitive financial terms in the divorce itself.
The separate corporate investigation would continue independently.
Derek could not bargain away conduct involving Richardson Biotech, ValeBridge, or his employer.
The house trust remained with the company.
Derek kept his retirement account.
Imani kept hers.
The joint checking balance was divided.
The biggest argument came over a ridiculous object.
Their dining table.
It was worth maybe two thousand dollars.
But it was the first expensive thing they had bought together.
Derek wanted it.
So did Imani.
For twenty minutes, two attorneys listened to them argue about a table neither truly needed.
Finally Teresa said, “Why does either of you care?”
Silence.
Imani looked at Derek.
He looked at her.
Then they both began laughing.
Not happily.
Not together the way they once had.
But with the exhausted absurdity of two people who suddenly saw what they were doing.
“Take it,” Imani said.
Derek shook his head.
“No. You take it.”
“I don’t want it anymore.”
“Neither do I.”
Margaret rubbed her forehead.
“Wonderful. We have achieved the historic legal result of neither party wanting the furniture.”
That evening, Brooke called Imani.
Imani nearly ignored it.
Then answered.
“Hi.”
Brooke sounded nervous.
“I heard Derek asked you for help.”
“He asked me to tell the truth if I’m asked.”
“Will you?”
“Yes.”
Brooke was quiet.
“Thank you.”
Imani leaned back in her chair.
“You don’t need to thank me for not lying.”
“You could hate me.”
“I did.”
Brooke inhaled.
“Do you still?”
Imani considered the question.
“No.”
That surprised her.
“I don’t trust you. I don’t like what you did. But hate is expensive, and I have enough invoices.”
Brooke laughed through tears.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I keep thinking about graduation.”
“So do I.”
“I was trying to prove I had won.”
Imani looked out the window.
“People who are winning usually don’t need witnesses.”
Brooke was silent.
Then she said, “I’m keeping the baby away from Derek until he finishes whatever legal mess this becomes. After that, I’ll listen to my attorney.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“I don’t want my child raised inside revenge.”
Imani closed her eyes.
“Then don’t.”
The next week brought consequences quickly.
Marcus Hale was terminated for cause.
Richardson Biotech filed civil claims against him and Northline Strategy Group.
ValeBridge placed two executives on leave and entered mediation with Richardson and Sterling.
Derek’s employer suspended him after discovering he had used Brooke’s credentials to access research databases for personal purposes.
He was not charged with a crime immediately, but attorneys from multiple companies became involved.
The glamour Derek once associated with “getting his half” disappeared under depositions, document requests, and legal bills.
Imani felt no satisfaction watching it happen.
Mostly she felt tired.
Then Sterling made an announcement nobody expected.
The board completed its governance review early.
Thomas Burton called Imani personally.
“We’re restoring the expansion option.”
Imani stood from her desk.
“You are?”
“We reviewed your response to the incident.”
“And?”
“You disclosed it before we discovered it elsewhere. You preserved evidence. You cooperated. Your board remained functional. That matters.”
Imani’s eyes filled before she could stop them.
“Thank you.”
“There is one condition.”
She tensed.
“What?”
“Stop apologizing every time someone else behaves badly.”
She laughed.
“I’ll work on it.”
When she ended the call, the office erupted.
Nicole hugged Patricia.
Patricia hugged anyone within reach.
Someone opened champagne.
This time, Imani did not take the bottle home unopened.
She stood with her employees while foam spilled over paper cups exactly as it had in the first office three years earlier.
Adrian arrived near the end of the celebration.
“You missed the speech,” Nicole told him.
“What speech?”
“Imani thanked everyone and only apologized twice.”
“Progress.”
Imani handed him a cup.
“You’re fired.”
“I don’t work for you permanently.”
“Then you’re pre-fired.”
He smiled.
It was the first time she noticed how different it felt to make a man smile without having to make herself smaller first.
A week later, the judge signed an interim order approving the core financial settlement framework.
The divorce would be final after the remaining valuation report.
Imani walked out of the courthouse beside Margaret.
There were no reporters this time.
No crowd.
No cameras.
Only sunlight.
Derek came down the steps behind them.
He stopped a few feet away.
“Imani.”
She turned.
“I’m sorry.”
She waited.
He swallowed.
“For the affair. For graduation. For the company. For all of it.”
Imani looked at him for a long moment.
“I believe you’re sorry.”
Hope flickered across his face.
She continued.
“That doesn’t mean we go backward.”
His expression softened.
May you like
“I know.”
And for once, he seemed to mean it.
