Chapter 6: The Price of Freedom

She stared at me like I was a stranger.

For a long moment, she couldn't speak.

When she finally tried, her voice came out rough, desperate.

I didn't wait.

There was nothing left to hear.

"Janet, this ends here," I said. "See you in court."

After finally confronting Janet, I stopped caring about her moods—or Asher's.

No more catering to them.

No more walking on eggshells.

I was free.

And yeah, it felt good.

Janet wouldn't stop explaining herself.

So I blocked her number and moved out.

She called from different numbers.

I ignored every one of them.

For thirty-five years, I'd lived according to Janet's schedule.

Her research.

Her career.

Her priorities.

Connor's needs.

Asher's demands.

There had never been room for me.

Now there finally was.

I rented a small furnished apartment on the other side of town.

It wasn't much.

One bedroom.

An old couch.

A tiny kitchen.

But when I placed my bags on the floor, the silence felt almost luxurious.

Nobody was waiting for dinner.

Nobody was asking where I'd been.

Nobody was telling me how much something cost.

For the first time in decades, every minute belonged to me.

I sat by the window and opened the folder Liam had given me.

Inside were copies of the overseas marriage certificate, financial records, and several documents connected to Connor.

There was something else too.

A list of transfers.

Millions of dollars had moved from Janet's accounts over the years.

Some went directly to Connor.

Some went through companies registered under his name.

And some had been used to purchase property overseas.

I stared at the numbers until my eyes hurt.

All those years I'd believed we were struggling.

All those years I'd skipped medication, worked odd jobs, and counted every dollar.

Meanwhile, my wife had been building another life.

A life that apparently had room for everything except me.

My phone buzzed.

It was Liam.

"Harlan, there's more," he said.

"What more?"

"The overseas marriage isn't the only problem. We found evidence that Janet transferred part of the marital savings into an account connected to Connor shortly after you were fired."

My stomach tightened.

"How much?"

Liam gave me the figure.

I closed my eyes.

It wasn't just betrayal.

It was a thirty-five-year financial deception.

"Can you prove it?" I asked.

"We're working on it. But if the records hold, Janet is going to have a serious problem."

I thanked him and ended the call.

I looked around the apartment again.

Yesterday, I had thought leaving meant losing everything.

Today, I realized I had already lost the things that mattered years ago.

What I was doing now wasn't destroying my family.

It was finally refusing to destroy myself.

I picked up the massage device I'd bought at the mall and plugged it in.

When the warmth eased the pain in my back, I almost laughed.

I'd spent years being told my pain wasn't important.

Now I was finally treating it like it mattered.

Then there was a knock at the door.

I frowned.

Nobody knew my new address except Liam.

I opened the door carefully.

Asher stood outside.

He looked exhausted, pale, and angry.

But for once, he wasn't shouting.

"Dad," he said quietly.

"We need to talk."