Chapter 2 - The Paper Fortress
The dining room fell into an icy silence, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator in the adjacent kitchen.
Wesley shoved his chair back so violently that the legs screeched against the floorboards.
"You had no right to open that correspondence or speak to my employer!" he spat, his hands balling into fists.
"The letter was addressed to both of us as primary policyholders," I replied, taking a calm sip of water.
"And when I called to verify why our joint coverage had ceased, the legal department was remarkably transparent."
Miriam stared at her son, her carefully sculpted brow furrowing as decades of blind maternal pride began to crack.
"Wesley, tell me this is a ridiculous mistake. Tell me this woman is fabricating lies to keep this house."
Wesley swallowed hard, avoiding his mother’s desperate gaze entirely.
"Mom, it was an accounting dispute over vendor bonuses. It’s being arbitrated privately through our union representatives."
"There is no union in corporate logistics, Wesley," I said, leaning forward so my voice carried clearly across the table.
"And there is no arbitration when you signed an immediate separation agreement to avoid criminal prosecution by the district attorney."
I slid a second document from my purse, laying it directly beside Wesley's cream-colored divorce petition.
It was the official termination notice, stamped with the red seal of the Oregon Department of Labor.
May you like
Miriam snatched the paper off the table, her pearl earrings swinging wildly as her eyes raced down the printed lines.
"You... you resigned without severance?" she whispered, her voice cracking in utter disbelief.
