Chapter 12 - Cassidy Refused to Be Bought
The audit announcement hit Chicago business news before breakfast.
Vale Meridian shares dipped.
Richard Vale released a statement accusing Dominic of reckless behavior.
Dominic released no response.
Instead, he made blueberry pancakes.
They were still misshapen.
Emily ate three.
Cassidy watched Dominic move around the kitchen.
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
“Your company is losing millions,” she said.
Dominic flipped a pancake.
“Market value.”
“That's supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
“Why are you making breakfast?”
“Because Emily asked.”
Emily nodded.
“I did.”
Cassidy looked at her.
“You're very powerful.”
“I know.”
Dominic almost smiled.
The trust hearing lasted four hours.
Cassidy did not attend.
Mara advised against it because her guardianship review was the following day.
Dominic testified.
Richard testified.
The court allowed the marriage to remain evidence of compliance but postponed final trust control until the authenticity and household requirements were reviewed.
Nobody won.
Nobody lost.
Yet.
When Dominic returned home, he looked as though he had aged five years.
Cassidy was at the dining table with spreadsheets.
He paused.
“What is that?”
“My budget.”
“For?”
“Moving.”
His expression changed.
“Why?”
“Not today.”
“When?”
“Eventually.”
“Cassidy.”
She turned the laptop.
Rent estimates.
Childcare costs.
Transit.
Groceries.
Savings goals.
“I told you. I need an independent plan.”
“You can stay here.”
“For six months.”
“Longer.”
“That wasn't the agreement.”
“It can change.”
“Because you're offering?”
“Yes.”
“That's exactly why I need this.”
He frowned.
Cassidy pointed at the numbers.
“I can't build stability around your generosity.”
“This isn't generosity.”
“What is it?”
Dominic went quiet.
That question was becoming dangerous.
Cassidy continued.
“I appreciate everything you've done.”
“I don't want appreciation.”
“What do you want?”
He looked at her.
She felt the room change.
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.
Nora entered carrying a package.
“For Cassidy.”
There was no sender.
Dominic immediately stepped forward.
“Don't open it.”
Nora sighed.
“Security already scanned it.”
Inside was a folder.
Cassidy opened it.
A bank statement.
Her name at the top.
Balance: $250,037.
She stared.
“What is this?”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“I don't know.”
Cassidy looked at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“It's in my name.”
Mara was called.
Within thirty minutes they learned an account had been opened using information from Cassidy's marriage paperwork.
The deposit came through an intermediary corporation.
The corporation traced toward Richard's network.
Cassidy understood.
“They're making it look like Dominic paid me.”
Mara nodded.
“Exactly.”
Cassidy laughed once.
“This is insane.”
“Do not touch the account.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
Rachel joined by phone.
“Document everything.”
“I don't want the money.”
“Good.”
“How do I get rid of it?”
“Don't move it. Let investigators trace it.”
Cassidy stared at the balance.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
A year ago she had cried because a repair cost four hundred.
Now a quarter million dollars sat under her name and felt poisonous.
Dominic watched her.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“What do you need?”
“I need everybody to stop deciding money solves me.”
He went still.
Cassidy stood.
“My whole life people looked at what I didn't have and assumed that meant they understood what I needed.”
“Cassidy—”
“The court needs stability. Fine. But suddenly your family thinks I'm purchasable because I'm poor.”
“I don't.”
“You did at the diner.”
His face tightened.
“I offered an arrangement.”
“Because you thought resources were what I lacked.”
“They were.”
“They weren't the only thing.”
“I know that now.”
She stopped.
The sentence was quieter than defense.
Dominic continued.
“I thought if I solved the measurable problems, everything else would become manageable.”
“That's how you run companies.”
“Yes.”
“People aren't companies.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He looked toward the stairs.
Emily's backpack sat on the landing.
“I didn't four days ago.”
Cassidy's anger softened.
Dominic moved closer.
“You're not staying because I pay for things.”
“No.”
“Good.”
“You're not buying my loyalty.”
“I know.”
“And if this becomes bad for Emily, I'm leaving.”
“I know.”
He stepped even closer.
“And if you leave?”
Cassidy swallowed.
“Yes?”
“I'll still help the investigation clear the account.”
“That isn't what you were going to say.”
“No.”
“What were you going to say?”
Dominic looked at her for a long moment.
“I'll miss you.”
Cassidy forgot how to breathe.
There it was.
Not dramatic.
Not polished.
No boardroom confidence.
Just four words.
She looked down.
“You'll miss Emily.”
“Yes.”
“And me?”
“Yes.”
Something frightened her more than Richard Vale's lawyers.
Because she believed him.
Cassidy whispered, “This is a bad idea.”
“Probably.”
“We've known each other five days.”
“Yes.”
“We're legally married because of a business deadline.”
“Yes.”
“You drive me crazy.”
“Mutual.”
She looked at him.
“Stop agreeing.”
“No.”
Cassidy laughed.
Dominic did too.
Then neither of them moved away.
He raised one hand slowly.
Stopped before touching her face.
Giving her the choice.
Cassidy closed the distance.
Their first kiss was brief.
Soft.
Almost cautious.
Nothing like the dramatic stories the newspapers had invented.
When they separated, Cassidy stared at him.
“That didn't happen.”
Dominic's mouth curved.
“Legally difficult to prove.”
She hit his shoulder.
Then Emily's voice sounded from the stairs.
“I SAW THAT.”
Cassidy jumped backward.
Dominic closed his eyes.
Emily stood on the landing grinning.
“You said you didn't love each other.”
“We still didn't say that,” Cassidy replied.
Emily pointed at them.
“But you're getting there.”
She disappeared upstairs.
Cassidy covered her face.
Dominic actually laughed.
For one perfect minute the house felt normal.
Then Rachel called.
Cassidy answered.
Her attorney's voice was tense.
“The family court moved your review to eight tomorrow morning.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever created that bank account sent the statement directly to the county.”
Cassidy looked at Dominic.
Rachel continued.
“They're going to claim the entire marriage was a financial transaction.”
Cassidy stared at the quarter-million-dollar balance on the screen.
Tomorrow she would have to convince a judge that she had never agreed to sell herself.
May you like
And someone had just manufactured two hundred fifty thousand reasons to doubt her.
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