PART 2
At first, I wanted to defend Derek. I said he had never hit me. Catherine explained calmly that abuse wasn’t only physical. Taking my money, isolating me, humiliating me, abandoning me somewhere dangerous — all of it was a form of control.
Then a sleek black car arrived. Her driver stepped out and addressed her as Mrs. Wilmington. Catherine invited me to come home with her.
I was stunned, but she smiled and said, “Your husband thought he left you with nothing. He has no idea he left you with the richest woman in this city.”
At her mansion, I learned Catherine had once owned Wilmington Industries. She gave me a safe room, food, a new phone, and access to her lawyer.
Over the following days, the truth came into focus. Derek had been quietly draining our savings, spending thousands at restaurants and hotels with another woman named Brenda. Catherine’s lawyer prepared everything for the divorce, while a therapist helped me understand exactly how deeply Derek had controlled me.
For the first time in years, I began to breathe.
Then Catherine told me Derek would be attending a charity gala as a sponsor. She wanted me to come with her — not as the frightened wife he had abandoned, but as her granddaughter and heir.
I was terrified. I agreed anyway.
That Saturday night, I arrived in an emerald gown beside Catherine. The entire room noticed us.
Then Derek saw me.
His face went white.
