Her mouth went dry.
Meridian had been valued at barely half that eighteen months earlier.
She turned pages.
Consideration.
Employee options.
Founder rollover.
Management retention.
Then:
CAPITALIZATION AT CLOSING.
Ryan Bennett — 31.8%
Claire Bennett — 8.4%
Claire stopped.
She read it again.
Eight point four.
“What is this?”
Ryan said nothing.
Claire looked up.
“My shares are forty-two percent.”
“The recapitalization changed—”
“What recapitalization?”
Ryan swallowed.
“The March documents.”
Silence.
The employees closest to them were no longer pretending not to listen.
Claire looked back at the page.
Eight point four.
Her hand remained surprisingly steady.
“You diluted me.”
“No.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“The founder shares were converted.”
“Into what?”
“Nonvoting preferred.”
“You converted thirty-three percent of my company into nonvoting preferred stock?”
“You received equivalent economic value.”
Claire stared.
“I did not approve that.”
“You signed.”
The sentence came too quickly.
Prepared.
Claire looked at him.
Then at the binder.
“What else did I sign?”
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
“This is why we need privacy.”
Claire flipped pages.
A section titled SPOUSAL AND FOUNDER CONSENTS.
There.
Her name.
Signature image.
Claire Bennett.
Another declaration:
The undersigned confirms that she and Ryan Bennett have lived separate and apart since January and have agreed in principle to dissolve their marriage.
Claire stopped breathing.
She read it twice.
January?
They had spent January together in Maui with Sophie.
Ryan had given her a gold bracelet on New Year’s Day.
They had argued.
Yes.
But separated?
No.
“What is this?”
Ryan’s eyes closed.
Vanessa moved closer.
“What?”
Claire turned the binder toward her.
Vanessa read.
Her face changed.
“That’s what you showed me.”
Ryan opened his eyes.
Claire looked at her.
“He showed you this?”
“A copy.”
“When?”
“April.”
Claire felt the room tilt slightly.
April.
Three weeks after her mother died.
Three weeks after Ryan kissed her forehead at the funeral and told everyone he would take care of her.
Vanessa’s voice broke.
“He said you were staying in the house until Sophie finished school.”
Claire looked at Ryan.
“Did you?”
Ryan lowered his voice.
“Our marriage has been over for years.”
There it was.
Not an answer.
A justification.
Claire said:
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Every fight.”
She laughed once.
“You think unhappiness is divorce paperwork?”
“I think you knew.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“No.”