Chapter 14 - The Last Time Derek Called Her Useless
The final mediation lasted seven hours.
Near the end, Derek asked to speak directly to Claire with both attorneys present.
Claire could refuse.
She almost did.
Then agreed.
Not because he deserved closure.
Because she wanted to hear herself answer him now.
Derek looked thinner.
Older.
The confidence remained.
Just damaged.
“You’ve made me into a monster.”
Claire stared at him.
“No.”
“You told everyone I tortured you.”
“I told them what happened.”
“You were hysterical that night.”
“I was hanging upside down.”
His jaw tightened.
“You pushed me.”
Claire almost laughed.
There it was.
A new version.
Always a version.
Derek continued.
“Your father filled your head with this.”
“My father and I still disagree about plenty.”
That stopped him.
Derek had expected Thomas to become Claire’s new authority.
He had not.
Claire continued.
“I live alone.”
“I work.”
“I manage my own money.”
“I make decisions without asking Dad.”
She leaned forward.
“That’s what you never understood.”
Derek said nothing.
“You thought if I stopped depending on you, I’d have to depend on someone else.”
His eyes hardened.
“Claire—”
“No.”
Her voice remained steady.
“You were wrong.”
Derek stared at her.
Then, almost reflexively, he reached for the oldest weapon.
“You’ve always been useless under pressure.”
Claire waited.
The insult landed differently now.
Not because it no longer hurt.
Because she finally recognized what it was.
A tool.
She smiled faintly.
“You built companies with my credit.”
Derek’s face changed.
“You took my father’s money by telling him it was for me.”
Silence.
“You needed my signatures.”
Silence.
“You needed me scared enough not to ask questions.”
Claire stood.
“So maybe I wasn’t useless.”
She picked up her coat.
“Maybe I was useful to you.”
Derek looked away.
For the first time, he had no insult ready.
Claire left the room.
She did not wait for him to apologize.
Some people apologize when they lose control.
That does not mean they understand what they did.
Claire no longer needed the distinction solved.
Outside, Thomas was waiting in the lobby.
He stood.
“Done?”
“Almost.”
“Want me to drive?”
Claire looked at the car keys in her own hand.
“No.”
Thomas smiled.
May you like
“All right.”
She drove herself home.
