Chapter 8: Derrick Begs for a Second Chance

The call ended, but the distorted voice remained in my head.

"Tell your wife she should have stayed away from my family."

I looked at Derrick.

For the first time since I had known him, he looked genuinely afraid.

Not for himself.

For me.

"We need to leave," he said.

"Now."

Georgina nodded.

"Agreed."

Security surrounded us as we left the hotel.

No one spoke during the drive.

Derrick kept staring at his phone.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"I'm trying to understand how my father could still be alive."

"Maybe he isn't."

"That voice knew too much."

"And the photograph was real."

I looked out the window.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Find him."

His answer was immediate.

"Before he gets near you."

That night, Georgina held an emergency meeting at the Hart residence.

Senior executives arrived one after another.

The legal team brought every surviving document from the company's archives.

Derrick stood at the center of the room.

"From this moment forward, no employee operates outside verified authority."

"Every account is frozen pending investigation."

"Every person connected to the old trust will be questioned."

"And no one contacts Rosalie."

An executive raised his hand.

"What about the properties she already accessed?"

"Review them all."

"If anything was transferred, reverse it."

"Yes, sir."

The meeting continued for hours.

Then an attorney entered carrying a sealed file.

"Mr. Hart, we found something concerning."

"What?"

"Your father's death certificate."

Derrick frowned.

"What's wrong with it?"

"The signature of the certifying physician doesn't match the hospital record."

"The physician whose name appears on the certificate retired seven years before your father supposedly died."

The room went silent.

Georgina closed her eyes.

"Your father never died."

Derrick stared at the document.

"Then where has he been?"

"Building this," I said quietly.

Everyone looked at me.

"The hidden network."

"The stolen assets."

"The fake trust documents."

"Rosalie."

"Everything."

Derrick slowly nodded.

"It all leads back to him."

Then the lights in the room flickered.

Every screen went black.

A projector suddenly turned on by itself.

A man's face appeared.

Older than the photograph.

But unmistakable.

Derrick's father.

My blood ran cold.

"Good evening, Derrick."

Derrick stepped forward.

"Dad."

The older man smiled.

"You finally discovered the truth."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you destroyed everything I built."

"I protected this family."

"You manipulated it."

"I made necessary decisions."

"You used Vera."

The man's eyes shifted toward me.

"I used the Voss family's assets."

"You were simply the vehicle."

Derrick's hands clenched.

"Leave her out of this."

"I can't."

"She's the key to the trust."

"And that's why your marriage was necessary."

I stared at Derrick.

He looked devastated.

"You arranged our marriage?" I asked.

"Not directly," his father replied.

"I created the circumstances."

"Your father believed the merger would strengthen both families."

"He didn't know I planned to redirect the assets later."

"And Rosalie?" Derrick asked.

"She was useful."

"I promised her compensation if she helped manipulate you."

"You ruined her life too."

"She made her own choices."

The screen went dark.

Derrick stood completely still.

"I need some air," he whispered.

He walked out.

I followed him.

He stopped in the garden.

For several seconds, he simply stared into the distance.

"I should have told you everything from the beginning."

"Yes."

"I thought protecting you from the truth would protect our marriage."

"Instead, it made me question whether our marriage was real."

"I know."

"Derrick..."

"I love you."

He turned toward me.

"And I know saying that isn't enough anymore."

"It isn't."

"Then tell me what is."

I looked at him.

"Honesty."

"Actions."

"Trust."

"And the willingness to stand beside me when things get ugly."

He nodded.

"Then I'll do all of it."

"Not because I want to keep you."

"Because you deserve the truth whether you stay with me or not."

His voice broke slightly.

"I don't want to lose you."

I looked away.

"You already almost did."

"I know."

"And I still haven't decided whether I can forgive you."

"That's fair."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it is."

He stepped closer, but stopped before touching me.

"I won't pressure you."

"I won't ask you to forget."

"I won't ask you to pretend nothing happened."

"Then what are you asking?"

"A chance."

"One chance to prove that the man who made those mistakes is not the man I intend to remain."

My eyes stung.

Not because I believed him completely.

Because for the first time, he wasn't asking me to trust words.

He was asking me to watch his actions.

The following morning, Derrick held a public press conference.

Every major business channel covered it.

He stood at a podium with Georgina beside him.

"Today, I am addressing the misinformation surrounding Hart International."

"Rosalie has never been my wife."

"She was given temporary privileges because of an old family arrangement."

"Those privileges were abused."

"I take responsibility for allowing that to happen."

The reporters immediately began shouting questions.

"What about your current wife?"

"Is your marriage in trouble?"

"Did business interests influence your marriage?"

Derrick took a breath.

"My marriage was influenced by family circumstances before it began."

"But I chose Vera because I loved her."

"I should have told her the complete truth."

"I failed to do that."

"That failure is mine."

I watched the broadcast from home.

Derrick continued.

"My wife owes no one an explanation."

"She owes me nothing."

"And anyone who harasses her will be dealt with through every legal means available."

Georgina looked at him approvingly.

The statement spread across the city within hours.

For the first time, Derrick had chosen me publicly.

Not because he was forced.

Not because his company needed me.

Because he wanted to protect my name.

Then, that evening, he came home carrying a small box.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Something I've had for years."

He opened it.

Inside was my old wedding ring.

I stared at it.

"Why do you still have it?"

"Because you took yours off after the first fight we had about Rosalie."

"I thought you'd thrown it away."

"I couldn't."

He placed it on the table.

"I'm not asking you to wear it."

"I'm giving you the choice."

"Keep it."

"Return it."

"Throw it away."

"Whatever you decide, I'll accept."

I picked up the ring.

For a moment, memories flooded back.

Our wedding.

Our promises.

The first time he called me his wife.

The first time I believed I had found forever.

I looked at Derrick.

"You really won't pressure me?"

"No."

"Even if I leave?"

His face tightened, but he nodded.

"Even then."

I set the ring down.

"Then wait."

His eyes widened.

"For what?"

"For me to decide whether the man standing in front of me is the man I married."

He nodded slowly.

"I'll wait."

Before we could say anything else, Georgina rushed into the room.

"Derrick."

"What happened?"

"The police found Rosalie."

Derrick stood immediately.

"Where?"

"At the old harbor."

"And there is something else."

"What?"

Georgina's expression became grim.

"She has been arrested."

"But she wasn't alone."

She looked directly at Derrick.

"Your father was with her."

Silence.

Derrick's face hardened.

I stood beside him.

The final battle wasn't about the company anymore.

It was about the family that had been manipulating us from the beginning.

And this time...

Derrick wouldn't be allowed to choose the wrong side.