The Divorce Papers Gave Him The Shell And Gave Me The Future Chapter 01

The Divorce Papers Gave Him The Shell And Gave Me The Future Chapter 01

Outside the courthouse, Ethan Harrison slid the papers across the table toward me.

“The house is yours. The savings, the car, all yours.”

His voice was calm, like he was dividing up a pile of worthless junk.

My eyes stopped on the last line: [Apex Dynamics belongs to the husband. The wife voluntarily waives all equity rights.]

Six years ago, when Ethan and I wrote our first line of code in a shared studio loft, he said the company was our baby.

Now he claimed he had built it all by himself.

Ethan handed me the pen.

“Skylar, just sign it. I keep the company, you keep everything else. You’re not losing here.”

I almost laughed.

House, car, savings, maybe a million and a half total.

My stake in the company was worth at least ten million. I’m not losing?

I stared at him.

He paused, then looked away.

“You don’t understand operations anyway. The company would fail in your hands. I have to think about the employees.”

I smiled slightly and signed the papers without a word.

If he wouldn’t split the company we built together?

Then no one would have it.

***

When I finished signing, the woman next to Ethan let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Grace Anson. Our former office manager.

No, make that the new woman of Apex Dynamics.

She touched Ethan’s arm and whispered, “Ethan, hurry up. We have a company meeting.”

Ethan stood, took his copy of the agreement, and walked out without looking back.

I stayed where I was and watched them climb into the black Porsche.

The first car he bought after the IPO last year.

When Grace bent to get into the passenger seat, she glanced back at me.

A look that mixed triumph with pity.

The door shut. The engine started.

I pulled out my phone. Three unread messages.

Anonymous investor: [The money and term sheet are ready, Ms. Chase. When can you sign?]

Leo Marin: [Boss, the new company’s servers are deployed. Ready to start anytime.]

Joe Martinez: [Skylar, the product launch is set for next Wednesday. Invitations sent to all media.]

I replied to each one.

Ethan thought taking the name meant he’d won.

Too bad.

The real Apex Dynamics was in my mind.

News of the divorce spread faster than I expected.

That night, the company’s private Slack channels exploded.

First came a post from my former colleague Tiffany Brooks: [Congrats to Ethan on his new life and fresh start!]

With a photo of Ethan and Grace in the break room, coffee cups raised, their smiles blinding.

Grace replied beneath it: [Thanks, Tiffany. I’ll take good care of him.]

Like some kind of declaration of allegiance.

Samuel Cooper, Apex’s investor, also posted: [Business is war. Some people are made for the hard times, they just can’t handle the good ones. A new chapter for Apex Dynamics. Worth watching.]

Ethan liked it.

I called Leo.

“How bad is it?”

“Not great.” His voice sounded tired. “Ethan held an all-hands this afternoon. Announced you’re stepping away from management for ‘health reasons.’ He restructured everything. I got… demoted.”

My grip tightened on the phone. “What else?”

“Derek Miller from Engineering got moved to some dead-end division. All because he asked, ‘When is Skylar coming back?’ And Jenny got reassigned to facilities, janitorial. She was close to you.”

“Oh, and the new HR director is one of Grace’s people. She already sat down with several longtime employees, basically told everyone to pick a side.”

Outside my window, the city spread out in a sea of lights. I stood on the balcony. The June breeze should have been warm. Instead, it cut right through me.

“Leo, how much longer can you hold on?”

“Me?” He laughed bitterly. “I already submitted my resignation. They’re happy about it. But boss, I got all the evidence you asked me to back up.”

“When can you start at the new company?”

“Any time.”

“Good.” I turned and looked at the moving boxes still scattered across my living room. “Three days. We’ll have our first product meeting.”

After hanging up, I opened a friend request on Instagram.

The verification message said: [Skylar, it’s Grace. Add me. There’s something I want to talk to you about.]

I accepted.

Messages started coming in.

[Skylar, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Ethan has been exhausted for the last two years. You never understood him. You never supported him.]

[A CEO needs to network. He needs resources. And you?]

[You spent every day in the lab writing code. You didn’t do anything else.]

[What he needed was a supportive partner. Not another programmer.]

[The divorce isn’t his fault. It’s because you’re too stubborn.]

[If you’d been a good wife, he never would have left you. I just gave him warmth when he needed it most.]

[We didn’t do anything wrong.]

I read the messages three times. Then I took screenshots and saved them.

I didn’t reply.

Right before I put the phone down, Ethan called.

“Skylar, did Grace reach out to you?” His tone was annoyed. “Can you please not make this harder for her?”

“She’s young. She doesn’t know anything. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me.”