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“Oh, I’m just getting started,” Bennett replies with a grin. “Those smug motherfuckers are about to realise they picked the wrong people to fuck with.”

We hear raised voices from inside and have to wait a good five minutes before the mediator opens the door and ushers us back inside. This time, I don’t keep my eyes fixed on the ugly carpet beneath my feet. I look directly at Jason instead. He’s sitting there red-faced, looking like he’s about to blow a gasket.

Once we’re seated, Jason’s counsel is the first to speak. “What are your proposed terms?”

Wow, that turned a corner quickly.

“For starters, my client is willing to relinquish any claim on the company, but she expects to be compensated for the wages legally owed to her, along with the superannuation your client failed to pay.”

“How much?”

I already told Bennett I wasn’t interested in the money. All I wanted was my son. But Bennett, Nolan, and Poppy all convinced me I deserved more than that after everything I’d poured into that business. The countless eighty-hour weeks. The sacrifices. The years I spent helping Jason build his restaurants into the success they are today.

I couldn’t exactly argue when they said the money would give Jonah the security and future every child should have.

“She wants half of what is in the bank. Not the business account, only the personal accounts.”

Jason’s lawyer glances over at him and arches an eyebrow in silent question, and he reluctantly nods, even though he’s probably rejoicing inside. Gone is the cocky bravado he had when we arrived. He looks salty now, and I can’t really blame him. He thought he was going to waltz in here and get everything he wanted.

Without Bennett and Poppy’s help, he may have.

Jason’s company is worth millions, and I could, in good faith, go after a share of it if I wanted to. Bennett thinks I’d have a strong case too. But none of that matters to me. The only thing I want is Jonah.

“We agree.”

“To fifty percent of what’s in your client’s personal accounts?” Bennett clarifies.

“Yes.”

The mediator finally speaks. “Can I have all the relevant bank statements so I can calculate the amount?”

Bennett slides the documents across the table, and we all sit in silence while she works through each one, jotting figures onto a legal pad.

When she finishes, she sets down her pen and looks around the room. “If both parties are in agreement, I’ll have the court clerk prepare the consent orders.”

“I have one more request,” Bennett says. “My client also requires your client to relinquish all parental rights to their child in exchange for him retaining one hundred percent ownership of all five restaurants. There’ll be no claim made for back child support, now or at any time in the future.”

“Can I have that in writing?” Jason spits.

Bennett ignores him, addressing his counsel instead. “If your client agrees, we can have the paperwork drawn up, signed, and filed before we leave today.”

“Are you willing to give up your parental rights in exchange for complete ownership of the business? I would think carefully if I were you, because once the papers are signed, you cannot change your mind,” his lawyer instructs.

“If I get complete ownership of the business, I’ll do it.”

As happy as that makes me, a part deep inside cracks wide open at the realisation that he’s willing to give up his own son, his own flesh and blood, for financial gain.

The mediator asked us to return in an hour so we could go over and sign all the necessary paperwork. I’m still reluctant to celebrate as we sit down to lunch at a local restaurant nearby. Until the agreement is signed and filed, I won’t be able to breathe easy.

I have so much to thank Bennett and Poppy for. They really put in the hard yards to make all of this possible. I’m not sure what my chances would’ve been if they hadn’t dug deep and uncovered all the things Jason had been doing behind my back.

I feel stupid for not seeing it sooner. For trusting him so blindly and never once questioning where the money was going. The betrayal isn’t just in what he did, but in how easily he hid it. I spent years believing I knew the man I loved, only to find out I didn’t know him at all.

If I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that the worst lies are the ones told by someone who knows your heart. Our life together was built on deceit, and I never would’ve noticed the cracks if it weren’t for Bennett Sinclair.

I’m currently staring down at my lap when Nolan hooks a finger under my chin and lifts my gaze to his. “What’s with the long face, darlin’?” he asks. “I thought that pretty smile of yours would be lighting up your face after how well the mediation went.”

“I won’t be able to relax until it’s all said and done.”