Chapter 4 - The Eviction
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of legal maneuvers and poetic justice. Because Daniel had tied his personal assets to the company’s fraudulent loans to artificially inflate his net worth, the fallout was catastrophic. The corporate accounts were drained to pay back the immediate creditors, leaving Carter Construction insolvent. But the deepest cut came when the bank’s asset seizure unit arrived at our suburban mansion.
I was standing in the driveway, leaning against my car with Lily in my arms. Daniel and Judith were frantic, arguing with the men in dark suits who were changing the locks on the front door. The reality had finally set in. They had nothing. No company, no cars, and now, no home. The mansion had been purchased under a corporate LLC that Daniel used as a tax shield—an LLC that now belonged entirely to my trust.
Daniel saw me and broke away from the men, sprinting down the driveway. He looked entirely broken. His expensive suit was wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and he had dark circles under his eyes. "Emily, please," he begged, falling to his knees on the concrete. "Please stop this. I'm sorry. I was stressed, I was just trying to manage our finances. I'll change. I'll do whatever you want. We're a family. You can't put me out on the street!"
Judith hurried over, her usual aristocratic haughtiness replaced by sheer panic. "Emily, be reasonable!" she cried, her voice shrill. "He's your husband! I'm your family! You can't leave us with nothing. What will people say? Where are we supposed to go?"
I looked down at the man who had gleefully told me to figure it out when I couldn't buy food for our child. I looked at the woman who had called me a dependent parasite. I felt no pity. I felt absolutely nothing but a profound sense of liberation.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a sleek, pristine white envelope. I handed it down to Daniel. His hands shook as he took it, tearing the seal open. He pulled out the documents, his eyes scanning the first page before welling up with tears.
"Those are divorce papers," I said, my voice cutting through the crisp afternoon air. "I am seeking full custody of Lily. Given the impending federal investigation into your corporate fraud, my lawyers assure me the judge will grant it without hesitation. I suggest you take whatever money you have left in your personal checking account and find a good defense attorney. You are going to need one."
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"Emily, no!" Daniel sobbed, clutching the papers to his chest. "You're destroying my life!"
"You destroyed it yourself, Daniel," I said softly, turning away from him. I opened my car door and secured Lily into her car seat. "I'm just making sure you never get the chance to destroy ours." I got into the driver’s seat, rolled up the window to block out Judith’s hysterical screaming, and drove away from the mansion, never looking back in the rearview mirror.
