I’m halfway to town when my phone rings through the car speakers. Mom.
I hit accept with a sigh. “Hey, Mom.”
“June, darling! I was just thinking about you.” Her voice is warm, familiar, with that slight Texas drawl she picked up after moving to Dallas years ago. “How are you? How’s the house? Did you get that leak fixed?”
“Working on it. I’m staying with some… friends while the repairs happen.”
“As long as you’re okay.”
“I am.”
“Darling, you know your father and I worry about you. All alone in that little town, so far from family…”
“I’m not alone. I have friends here. A community.”
“But no partner. No one to take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can.” Her voice softens. “You’ve always been so independent. So determined. But, sweetheart, you can’t stay in that town forever. You proved you can run a business beautifully, but maybe it’s time to think about joining us in Dallas. There are so many lovely Beta men here we could introduce you to. You wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s always true.”
A long pause.
“Darling, I need to tell you something.” Her tone shifts—heavier, more serious. “Your father… well, you know he let you take over the business because you insisted. Because you were so passionate about it. But he always planned to sell eventually.”
My stomach drops.
“The business, sweetheart.”
“Mom, that’s my business. I’ve been running it for four years.”
“Your father owns the building, darling. And the company name. Legally, it’s still his.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. When I took over, Dad kept everything in his name because I was young and unproven and he wanted to protect me if things went wrong. I was supposed to buy him out eventually, but the right moment never seemed to come, and now?—
“I’ll buy it from him,” I say quickly. “I’ll figure it out. Take out a loan, whatever I need to do.”
“June, my sweet girl…” Mom’s voice cracks slightly. “He can get much more from investors than he could ever ask you for. And we need the money. Your father invested in something that… well, it didn’t work out. We’re in a difficult position.”
My heart sinks. “How difficult?”
“Enough that we need to sell or we lose our home here.”
I pull over to the side of the road because I can’t drive and process this at the same time. My hands are shaking.
“What about the money I send you every month? The percentage from the sales?”
Mom is quiet at first. “Your father invested that too. It’s… it’s gone, darling. I’m so sorry.”
The betrayal sits heavily on my chest. Years of working, building, sending money to them, thinking I was helping, and he just… gambled it away on some investment scheme.
“So what happens now?” My voice sounds hollow.
