RING OF POWER

Chapter 3 The Ultimatum

The drive home took fifteen minutes. Alphonsus's hands tightened around the steering wheel as he drove.

He had just walked away from a job he desperately needed. And for what? To sign divorce papers? To listen to his wife tell him again that he wasn't enough?

But there was also the possibility that something else had happened. Vivian's urgency had been different this time. She hadn't sounded angry so much as determined, like someone who had already made up her mind and was ready to move forward.

He pulled into the apartment parking lot at 5:47 PM.

There were three cars instead of two. He immediately recognized his father-in-law's BMW. It was the same car that had picked Vivian up from their apartment only twice: once on their wedding day, when it took her to the photographer, and once on a weekend when her mother had been visiting.

Vivian had once mentioned that the car cost more than his annual salary.

Alphonsus remained behind the wheel for a moment, staring at it. Why were her parents there?

He wasn't ready for this. He hadn't slept, he had just lost his job, and now he was about to walk into an apartment with two people who had always considered him a failure.

Still, he couldn't stay in the car forever.

He climbed the stairs and opened the apartment door.

Vivian was sitting on the couch beside her mother. Her father, Richard Castellano, stood near the window with his arms crossed.

Richard was a tall man in his late fifties, with gray hair and the kind of tan that suggested he spent his weekends at the country club. He had never liked Alphonsus, and Alphonsus had always known it. Until now, Richard had at least maintained a facade of civility, the way wealthy people sometimes did when tolerating their daughter's poor choices.

That facade was gone.

"Alphonsus," Richard said. It wasn't a greeting. "We need to talk about what's happening with my daughter."

Alphonsus looked at Vivian. She was staring at her hands. Her mother, Patricia, wore an equally restrained expression, as though the decision had already been made.

"I wasn't expecting this," Alphonsus began.

"No, I imagine you weren't," Richard interrupted. "Vivian has told us about the divorce. She's also told us about your financial situation. Despite working multiple jobs, you still can't provide her with a basic standard of living."

Alphonsus closed the door behind him. With four people in the apartment, the small living room suddenly felt even smaller.

"Mr. Castellano, I—"

"Hold it there. My daughter is thirty-two years old. She has an excellent job at a marketing firm and a college degree. She has every opportunity to build a good life, yet she's spent years watching you struggle with jobs that will never lead anywhere. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Richard," Patricia said quietly, placing a hand on her husband's arm.

It wasn't an attempt to stop him. It seemed more like encouragement.

"I'm asking him a direct question." Richard kept his eyes fixed on Alphonsus. "Do you understand that you're holding my daughter back?"

The words hung between them.

Alphonsus felt anger rising inside him, but he kept his voice controlled.

"Your daughter and I have been married for four years," he said. "I've done my best to provide for her and support my family. I understand that it hasn't been enough."

"Your best?" Richard gave a short, bitter laugh. "Your best is warehouse work and coffee shops. Your best is living in an apartment with water damage on the ceiling. Your best is asking my daughter to sacrifice her future because you can't earn a respectable income."

Vivian still hadn't looked at him.

"Here's what's going to happen," Richard continued, his tone becoming more businesslike. "Vivian is going to file for divorce. You're going to sign the papers, and you're going to do it without making this any more difficult than necessary. In exchange, we won't pursue alimony or require you to pay her legal fees."

"That's generous," Alphonsus replied quietly.

"It's not generous. It's practical."

Richard stepped closer.

"But I want to make something absolutely clear. If you're holding on to any hope that you and my daughter will reconcile, you need to understand that it will only happen if you prove you're capable of building a real future. That means a real job, a real income, and the ability to provide her with a life that reflects her actual worth, not her pity for your circumstances."

"If you can do that," Patricia added, her voice softer than her husband's, "perhaps things could be different one day. But right now, you need to let her go."

Alphonsus turned toward Vivian.

Finally, she looked at him.

There was sadness in her expression, but resignation outweighed everything else. She looked like someone who had already grieved the marriage and was simply waiting for the paperwork to make the separation official.

He opened his mouth to respond. He wanted to explain that he was trying, that his struggles didn't mean he was worthless, and that his responsibilities to his family weren't something he could simply abandon.

But before he could say anything, his phone rang.

The sound cut through the tension in the room.

Alphonsus glanced at the screen. The number was unfamiliar, but its prefix belonged to the hospital where his mother was receiving treatment.

He answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Jameson? This is Dr. Lilian Salvatore from County Hospital. I'm calling about your mother's account with us."

His stomach tightened.

"Yes, Doctor. Is she all right? Has something happened?"

"Your mother is physically stable right now, but we have a billing issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Her current treatment protocol requires an expensive medication that must be administered daily. Unfortunately, your insurance provider has denied the claim, classifying the medication as an experimental treatment. Without it, her condition will deteriorate significantly."

Alphonsus turned away from Vivian and her parents and walked toward the window.

"How much?" he asked.

He could hear the tremor in his voice.

"The medication costs eight hundred pounds per dose. She needs five doses to complete the current course of treatment. That brings the total to four thousand pounds, Mr. Jameson. If the payment isn't made by tonight, we may have to stop her treatment."

The room seemed to tilt.

Alphonsus stared down at his hands. His wedding ring was still on his finger, cold and heavy.

"How much time do I have?"

"The pharmacy closes at nine PM. If we don't receive payment before then, we won't be able to administer tonight's dose."

He looked at the clock.

6:15 PM.

"I understand," he managed to say. "I'll..."

"Mr. Jameson, I need you to understand the seriousness of this situation. If payment isn't made tonight, we may have to stop her treatment."

The doctor had already explained it once. She was repeating herself because she understood that he might not have fully processed what she was saying.

Alphonsus ended the call.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Richard and Patricia were still waiting. Vivian was waiting, too. They had all expected him to respond to their demands, to sign the papers and accept that his marriage was over.

But now his mother was waiting as well.

Four thousand pounds.

His mother needed treatment, and he had until nine o'clock to find the money.

Alphonsus turned around slowly. His eyes met Richard. Something flickered across his father-in-law's face—not quite sympathizing, but perhaps a moment of recognition that something was happening beyond his understanding.

"I need to make a phone call," Alphonsus said quietly.