Page 62 of The Breakup Broker

"Well, Commitment." I straightened my shoulders,checking my reflection one more time. "Let's go write an ending worth remembering."

Joe was in his usual spot when I boarded, reaching for the tissue box he kept ready. I waved it away as I slid into my regular seat.

"I won't need those today," I said, smoothing my power suit. "This ending's going to be different."

He studied me for a moment, then his expression changing, amusement lighting his face. "About time," was all he said before moving down the aisle, calling out his familiar "Tickets, please!"

The familiar rhythm of the train helped steady my nerves as the countryside slipped past. I'd made this journey hundreds of times but today felt different. Today wasn't about cushioning someone else's fall. It was about justice. The same route I'd taken for countless breakups, but this time I wasn't Jennifer Walsh, professional heartbreaker. Today, I was just me—Savvy Honeysucker, ready to break up with the idea of breakups forever.

The walk from the station held a strange clarity. As I passed The Paper Crane, I glanced at the window—my emergency escape route from a different Kingston. Today, there would be no 911 texts to my friends. No hiding in a bathroom while my world unraveled.

Mason, who I’d met at the funeral, had the door open before I reached it. He didn’t just stand in the entrance—he filled it, broad shoulders and sharp gaze making him look more like private security than legal counsel. The kind of man people instinctively stepped around.

"Everyone's in position," he said as I passed. "Board members in the window seats, town council by the counter, small business owners scattered throughout."

I nodded, taking in the careful choreography. Everytable filled with people whose lives Richard had tried to control, whose futures he'd tried to buy. All of them pretending to be absorbed in their coffee and phones. All of them waiting.

"His table?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Center of the room." Mason tapped the table with deliberate precision. "Best sight lines for everyone."

I settled into what would be the power position: the chair facing the door.

A moment later, the bell above the door chimed exactly at nine. I watched Richard's expression shift from anticipation to confusion to barely controlled rage in the space of three seconds. His eyes locked onto me, not even registering the unusually full coffee shop.

"What are you doing here?" He tried to keep his voice low, professional, but the edge of panic bled through. "Where's Victoria?"

"Sit down, Richard." I gestured to the chair across from me, channeling every ounce of Jennifer Walsh's professional calm. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." But he sat anyway, his body rigid with tension.

I removed an envelope from my folder and slid it across the table. "Here's a check for twenty-five thousand dollars. According to your prenup with Victoria, that's what you're entitled to. Your marriage is over."

When he didn't move to take it, I placed the second folder between us. "But we're not finished. River Bend is breaking up with you too. Every person you tried to bully, every business you attempted to pressure, every piece of property you schemed to acquire—they're all here to witness this ending."

"You can't..." Richard's fingers curled around the check,crumpling it as he registered the unusual quiet in the coffee shop. His head jerked up, taking in the faces around him— people he'd threatened, manipulated, tried to buy. Board members who'd received his "generous offers." Shop owners he'd tried to pressure into selling. The town council members he'd attempted to bribe.

The blood drained from his face as realization dawned. Every person who had once feared him was here—and they didn’t look afraid anymore.

"Actually, I can," I said, pulling out the board's letter. "Your company has completed its investigation into the allegations of wrongdoing tied to River Bend. Turns out, they found a striking pattern of abuse and manipulation. And now, they won’t touch you with a ten-foot pole."

I let the weight of that settle before delivering the final blow.

"They’d like you to step down, Richard. Immediately. You’re a liability they can’t afford anymore. Consider this your official notice—your particular brand of hostile takeovers is no longer welcome."

"This is ridiculous!" Richard surged to his feet, sending his chair crashing backward. The crumpled check fell from his fingers to the table. "You can't possibly think?—"

"That people would stand up to you?" I cut him off, my voice steady. "That your threats would stop working?" I gestured to our audience. "Look around, Richard. Really look. Everyone you attempted to manipulate, everyone you tried to bully or buy ... they're all here. And they're not afraid anymore."

Movement caught my eye. It was Marcus tensing behind the counter, ready to vault over it if needed. I gave him a slight wave without taking my eyes off Richard.I had this.

"She speaks the truth.” Victoria's voice sliced through the heavy silence as she entered from the back room. "It's over, Richard. The marriage, the schemes, all of it."

The look on his face as reality sank in was something I’d remember forever—the moment a man who thought he held all the cards realized he’d been bluffing with an empty hand.

"This isn't over," he spat, but the threat sounded hollow.

"Actually, it is." My hand brushed James's letter in my pocket, drawing power from it. "You've taken enough, Richard. Years of mine and Henry's lives. The peace of mind of everyone in this room. You tried to steal the soul of a town for profit. But you won’t take anything else."

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