Chapter 5 - Cold Calculations
By three o'clock in the morning, the snowstorm had quieted into a gentle, steady snowfall. Emily had finally given in to exhaustion and was sleeping on the couch, wrapped in a thick fleece blanket. Gavin sat at the small kitchen table, his laptop open, illuminated only by the blue glow of the screen.
He had already transferred the dashcam footage to a secure server and forwarded it to his personal attorney, Harrison Vance, along with a brief, uncompromising directive: Prepare federal extortion charges and an emergency injunction.
Next, Gavin opened a private database containing Rowan Technologies' internal audit reports. He had suspected Arthur of skimming funds from the European R&D division for over six months, but he had held off on a formal investigation to avoid destabilizing stock prices during the divorce. Now, the gloves were off.
Gavin typed rapidly, running complex algorithms through the company's financial ledgers. Within two hours, he found what he was looking for: a series of shell companies registered in the Cayman Islands, all linked to a digital signature matching Arthur Pendelton's private encryption key.
"Got you," Gavin muttered under his breath, a cold satisfaction washing over him.
A soft sound behind him made him turn around. Emily was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, her blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
"Did you find something?" she asked softly.
"More than enough to put Arthur away for fifteen years," Gavin replied, closing the laptop slightly. "He wasn't just blackmailing us, Emily. He’s been embezzling millions from Rowan Tech to pay off personal gambling debts in Macau. He needed to oust me as CEO because I was getting too close to uncovering his tracks."
Emily walked over and leaned against the edge of the table. "So it wasn't really about Noah at all?"
"Noah was just leverage to him," Gavin said, his voice hardening. "A weapon to force my resignation before the annual audit in January. But he miscalculated. He thought I would yield to protect my reputation. He didn't realize that the only thing in this world that actually matters to me is sitting in that crib in the other room—and standing right in front of me."
Emily looked away, a soft blush rising to her cheeks despite her exhaustion. "Gavin... we can't just pretend the last five months didn't happen. We signed those papers. We were broken long before Arthur showed up."
"I know," Gavin said gently, standing up from his chair. He took a step toward her, keeping his hands at his sides so as not to overwhelm her. "I'm not asking you to forget the past, Emily. I deserved every bit of pain I felt when I walked out of that lawyer's office. I was a terrible husband. I prioritized ghost numbers on a screen over the woman who gave me a reason to live."
"Gavin..."
"I'm not asking for my old life back," Gavin continued, his green eyes burning with raw sincerity. "I'm asking for a chance to build a new one. A chance to prove to you that I can be the father Noah deserves, and the man you used to love. Even if it takes the rest of my life."
May you like
Emily stared at him, her chest heaving as she fought back a new wave of tears. Before she could answer, a soft cry echoed from the living room. Noah was awake and hungry.
"Go to him," Gavin whispered with a warm, humble smile. "I'll make fresh coffee."
