Later, when he asked, she didn’t deny it. She said she was in love with someone else. She said she was moving to New York. She suggested Ethan keep the twins because, as she put it, “they already have someone taking care of them.”
Days later, the second blow landed. Unauthorized transfers. Payments to a shell agency in New Jersey. Vanessa had emptied accounts tied to Caldwell Design Studio.
The business collapsed almost overnight.
One evening, Ethan sat at the table surrounded by financial statements. Naomi paused in the doorway.
“If you need privacy,” she said quietly, “I can step out.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know what I need.”
She hesitated, then opened a worn notebook filled with careful numbers. “This is money I’ve saved over the years,” she said. “I think this is what it’s for.”
He refused at first. She met his eyes. “It’s not charity. It’s faith.”
They accepted only part of it. Together, they rebuilt—selling furniture, renegotiating contracts, shifting the business toward local craftsmanship and sustainable materials. Slowly, the studio survived.