Chapter 3
My phone rang.
It was Ethan's smartwatch calling.
I picked up.
"Don't come to see me again!" Ethan's voice burst from the speaker, choked with tears and anger. "Victoria says you're just an old hag. Dad was right to leave you!"
I said, "Ethan—"
"Don't say my name!" Ethan shouted, his voice breaking. "I don't want to see you. Don't ever come pick me up again!"
The call ended.
I stood in the middle of the kids' section, clutching my phone. Next to me, a rack was lined with little hoodies, and the blue one was Ethan's favorite.
I put the hoodie back on the rack.
*****
At two in the afternoon, the shareholders' meeting began.
The conference room door was closed, and the frosted glass revealed the shifting silhouettes inside. I pushed the door open, and all eyes turned to me.
Richard sat at the head of the table, dressed in a sharp suit, with a stack of documents in front of him.
Victoria stood behind him, her hand resting on the back of his chair.
"Grace." Richard cleared his throat. "Today's meeting is mainly about your position."
"What's the problem?" I asked.
"Word's out about your alleged embezzlement," Richard said, flipping open the document. "As the CEO, I move to terminate Grace from all her positions."
An older shareholder coughed. "Richard, isn't this a bit hasty? The matter hasn't been fully investigated yet."
"Jack," Victoria said, her tone soft and almost syrupy. "The evidence is already with the police. Why are you still defending her?"
Jack looked at her, then at Richard, and lowered his head, saying nothing.
Richard slid the document across the table toward me. "Sign it."
I stared at the stack of papers, refusing to pick them up.
"Suit yourself," Richard said, leaning back in his chair. "We'll put it to a vote."
He raised his hand, and Victoria followed suit.
One, two, three... More and more hands went up, and the room fell into a heavy silence, like a classroom where no one dared to answer the teacher.
Only Jack stayed still. He kept his head down, his fingers clutching the edge of the table.
"The vote's passed," Richard said, rising to his feet. "Grace, from now on, you're out of the company."
He glanced at me, his eyes carrying both exhaustion and a sense of relief.
Victoria hooked her arm around his and flashed me a smile. "Goodbye, Grace."
The conference room door closed behind me.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out.
It was a message from an unknown number: [Want to know the real story behind the ownership? Tomorrow at 3 PM, the usual spot.]
To be safe, I reached out to someone I trusted, and then made up my mind to go.
Richard and I had two "usual spots". One was a coffee shop behind the university, but it had been torn down ages ago.
The other was the basement we rented when we first started our business, down in the basement level of an old apartment building.
The taxi pulled up at the entrance of the apartment complex.
I paid the fare and headed in. The building was still the same, with huge patches of paint peeling off the walls and the iron gate at the entrance rusted to a deep brown.
The basement entrance was just off to the side, a sloping ramp leading down into pitch black.
I headed down the ramp.
My footsteps bounced between the concrete walls, muffled and oppressive.
I pushed the door open. The room was deserted. The musty smell in the corner was so strong that it made me uneasy. Cigarette butts littered the floor, and a few folding chairs were piled up in the corner.
No one was there.
Then my phone received a message.
Victoria: [Go all the way in to the last room.]
It was Victoria?
I made my way through the corridor. The bulb overhead flickered, its filament humming.
The door to the last room was ajar, light spilling out from within.
I pushed the door open.
Victoria was seated at a folding table, and a few sheets of paper lay out in front of her.
Two men stood behind her. One was bald, with a scorpion tattoo on his neck. The other was tall and skinny, twirling a nightstick in his hand.
"Grace, you're here," Victoria said, getting up with a sugary smile. "I knew you'd come."
"You sent me that text?" I asked.
"Who else?" Victoria tilted her head. "Did you think it was Daniel? That investor?"
I didn't say anything.
She walked around the table, heels clicking, and stopped right in front of me, looking up at me. "Grace, do you know why Richard chose me?"
"That's none of my business," I said.
"Because he thinks you're old," Victoria said, jabbing my shoulder with her finger. "Eight years with him? Had his kid? None of that matters. Now, just seeing you pisses him off."
She shoved the papers across the table toward me.
"Here's a share transfer agreement. Sign it, transfer your shares to Richard, and I'll drop the lawsuit. After that, we can discuss anything."
"I don't have any shares."
Victoria laughed out loud. "Grace, who are you trying to fool? Richard checked. When the company was first registered, 51% of the shares were listed under your name.
"He searched everywhere for that 51%, and then realized that it was under your name."
She leaned in, her voice dropping to a gentle tone. "Sign the agreement, and I'll tell the cops the three million dollars was just a misunderstanding. And I'll tell Ethan his mom's actually a good mom."
"You think I'll buy that?"
"Doesn't matter if you buy it or not," Victoria said, stepping back as her smile faded. "What matters is that you're signing the agreement today."
The bald man took a step forward.
I backed up, hitting the wall behind me.
Victoria pulled a small knife from her bag. The blade wasn't big, but it flashed sharply under the light. She set it on the table and pushed it to the edge.
"Grace, I really don't want to hurt you, but you have to sign," Victoria said.
"What if I don't?" I snapped.
She let out a sigh and pushed the knife even closer.
"Just sign it," she coaxed, her voice soft, almost like she was talking to a kid. "Sign it, and it'll be easier for everyone."