Chapter 19: Not Her Nurse

'Tessa asked me to protect our family by keeping my position,' Brett said across the table.

He made the claim while the company leaders watched me.

The signed statement bent between my fingers.

The paper's edge pressed into my skin, and I saw the crease form.

June took Theo from my arms.

'I've got him,' she said.

I let her settle him against her shoulder.

My hands needed to be empty before I answered Brett.

He kept his attention on the chair, not on me.

He had chosen the words carefully. A family. A request. A husband trying to provide.

He wanted them to hear a wife asking him to stay powerful.

'I never asked Brett to keep his job,' I said.

The chair looked at me.

'Would you let me answer his claim directly?' I asked.

'Go ahead,' she said.

Brett finally turned toward me.

I set the signed statement on the table and kept my palm beside it.

'Brett said, "She has nowhere to go."'

His face changed at the exact words.

The leaders had heard the recording. I did not need to explain who had said them or when.

'He said it as a bet,' I continued. 'It wasn't a plea from me.'

Dale stayed beside the laptop.

Brett leaned toward the chair.

'You can take one ugly sentence and make it sound like a plan. She wants to destroy my life.'

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