Divorced at the Banquet, Ascended by the System

Chapter 5: Terms and Conditions

Frank didn’t rush home. He walked. The city felt different when he moved through it without shrinking himself.

People brushed past him, unaware that markets were convulsing because of a name they were only just rediscovering.

Screens in storefronts replayed Evelyn’s forced press statement. Commentators speculated. Analysts argued. Frank listened to none of it.

The System stayed quiet, which unsettled him more than the warnings. When he reached the house, dusk had settled. Lights were on inside. Good. She hadn’t taken Lena again.

Frank unlocked the door and stepped in. Evelyn was standing in the living room, phone pressed to her ear, pacing.

She stopped when she saw him and ended the call without a word. “Close the door,” she said.

Frank did. For a moment, they just looked at each other. Not as husband and wife. Not as enemies. As adversaries who knew each other too well. “You blindsided me,” Evelyn said finally.

Frank shrugged out of his coat. “You toasted to not hiding.”

“That wasn’t”

“for me?” Frank finished calmly. “I know.”

Her eyes flashed. “You could’ve handled this privately.”

“You killed privacy the moment you made betrayal public.”

Silence. Evelyn inhaled slowly. “What you did today cost billions in market cap.”

Frank met her gaze. “What you did cost me years.”

She scoffed. “You chose that.”

Frank stepped closer. “I chose us. There’s a difference.”

Her jaw tightened. “You’re rewriting history.”

“No,” Frank said. “I’m finally reading it aloud.”

A door creaked down the hall. “Daddy?”

Frank turned instantly. “Hey, sweetheart.”

Lena padded into the room in her socks, eyes darting between them. “You’re both home.”

“Yes,” Frank said gently. “And we’re talking.”

Evelyn forced a smile. “Why don’t you go finish your homework?”

Lena hesitated. “Are you mad?”

Frank crouched, meeting her at eye level. “I’m focused.”

That seemed to satisfy her. She nodded and went back to her room. The moment her door closed, Evelyn’s voice hardened. “You’re using her as a shield.”

Frank straightened. “I’m protecting her from becoming leverage.”

Evelyn laughed, short and sharp. “Too late.”

The System pulsed. Emotional Manipulation detected.

Frank’s expression didn’t change. “Try again.”

Evelyn crossed her arms. “You want terms? Fine.”

She gestured toward the dining table, the same table where the cold dinner still sat, untouched, plates cleared but stains left behind like ghosts.

They sat. Evelyn spoke first. “You withdraw the public claim.”

“No.”

“You halt the audit.”

“No.”

Her nostrils flared. “You’re enjoying this.”

Frank leaned back. “I’m surviving it.”

Another silence. “Then what do you want?” she demanded.

Frank folded his hands. “Joint founder recognition.”

Her eyes widened. “Absolutely not.”

“Custody renegotiation,” Frank continued. “Primary residence with me.”

“That’s insane.”

“And a formal separation of personal and corporate retaliation,” Frank finished. “No character smears. No planted stories.”

Evelyn stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You think the board will allow this?”

Frank tilted his head. “I think the board prefers stability.”

Her phone buzzed on the table as if on cue. She glanced at it and paled. Frank smiled faintly. “They’re asking how deep this goes.”

Evelyn slammed her hand down. “You’re forcing me into a corner!”

“No,” Frank said quietly. “I’m removing the walls.”

She leaned forward, eyes sharp. “If you keep pushing, I’ll drag you down with me.”

The System whispered. Threat escalation confirmed.

Frank leaned in too. “You already tried that once. Remember the blind spot?”

Her breath caught. For the first time that night, fear broke through her control. “You don’t know what you’re implying,” she said.

“I know exactly what I’m implying,” Frank replied. “And so do you.”

She stood abruptly. “This conversation is over.”

Frank didn’t move. “We haven’t discussed Ryan.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “What about him?”

“Is he still employed?”

Evelyn hesitated. Frank nodded. “There it is.”

“He’s on medical leave,” she said.

“Fire him.”

“That would look retaliatory.”

Frank smiled. “So did promoting him.”

She stared at him, then laughed bitterly. “You want his head too?”

“I want accountability.”

Evelyn looked away. “You’re not the man I married.”

Frank’s voice softened. “You stopped seeing the man you married.”

The room went quiet again. Then the System spoke clearly, unmistakably.

Phase Two trigger available.

Condition: Refusal probability rising.

Frank exhaled. “Evelyn, this is your last chance to choose cooperation.”

She turned back to him, eyes cold. “Or what?”

Frank stood. “Or the system finishes what I started.”

She blinked. “What system?”

Frank paused. Too long. Evelyn frowned. “Frank?”

The lights flickered. Not off. Just enough. Her phone buzzed violently. She snatched it up. “Why are investors asking about something called Silent Equity?” she demanded.

Frank said nothing. Her eyes scanned the screen. Her face drained of color. “This, this says twelve percent,” she whispered. “That’s impossible.”

“It was always there,” Frank said. “You just ignored it.”

Her voice shook. “Release it, and the company fractures.”

Frank met her gaze. “Then agree to the terms.”

Evelyn’s hands trembled. “You’re holding a knife to everything I built.”

Frank shook his head. “I’m holding a mirror.”

She laughed, hysterical now. “You think this ends cleanly?”

“No,” Frank said honestly. “I think it ends truthfully.”

Another message appeared on her phone.

BOARD CHAIR: We need Frank Forbes on the call. Immediately.

Evelyn looked up slowly. “They want you,” she said.

Frank nodded. “I know.”

She searched his face. “When did you become this ruthless?”

Frank thought of the cold dinner, The video, The blind spot. “When I realized kindness without recognition is just slow erasure.”

The System pulsed. Core Struggle crystallized.

Evelyn sank back into her chair. “Fine,” she said hoarsely. “Temporary joint recognition. Custody mediation.”

Frank didn’t sit. “And Ryan?”

She closed her eyes. “He’s gone.”

Frank waited. “And?” he prompted.

“And… a public statement clarifying your role.”

Frank nodded. “Good.”

She looked up at him, exhausted. “Are we done?”

Frank considered her carefully. “No,” he said. “We’re aligned. For now.”

Her phone rang again. She answered, voice hollow. “Put him through.”

She held the phone out to Frank. He took it. “Frank Forbes,” the board chair said. “We have concerns.”

Frank looked at Evelyn. “I imagine you do,” he replied calmly.

The System chimed one last time. Phase Two: Claim Enforcement—Active.

Frank handed the phone back. “I’ll take the call in my office tomorrow,” he said. “Not here.”

Evelyn nodded numbly. Frank turned toward the hallway. “Daddy?” Lena called softly from her room.

He smiled, tension easing just a fraction. “I’m here.”

As he walked away, Evelyn watched him, really watched him, for the first time since the IPO. And for the first time, she understood something she should have realized years ago.

The man she betrayed wasn’t weak. He’d just been patient. Behind Frank’s eyes, the System glowed, quiet, watchful, and far from finished.