Chapter 5 - Victoria’s Last Card
The counter-attack from Victoria didn't take long. That afternoon, a heavy knock rattled my front door. It wasn't the police or a process server. It was Victoria herself, stripped of her expensive jewelry, her hair disheveled from days of frantic legal battles.
I opened the door, keeping the heavy security chain engaged.
"Valerie," she whispered, her voice cracking as she tried to force her old, commanding tone. "We need to compromise. Ethan is facing ten years in prison because of that recording. If you drop the domestic violence charges, I will ensure he signs a full, uncontested divorce waiver. You can have everything."
"I already have everything, Victoria," I said through the crack in the door. "The house is mine. The accounts are frozen. Your daughter is currently being processed for corporate tax fraud and money laundering."
Victoria’s eyes narrowed into slits, the desperation turning into pure venom. "You think you're so smart with your corporate laws and your bank audits? You're a lonely, pathetic woman, Valerie. My son loved you, and you threw him to the wolves because you couldn't handle a little discipline."
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"Discipline?" I pulled the chain back and swung the door open, stepping into the light so she could see the purple bruising creeping out from under my cast. "He broke my body because I wouldn't let him steal my future. That's not discipline, Victoria. That's a crime. And as for the wolves? I didn't throw him to them. I am the wolf."
She stepped back, her mouth opening and closing in shock as I slammed the door and locked it with three separate deadbolts.
