Chapter 7 - The Settlement Table
On June 14, 2026, the final settlement meeting was held at Grace’s office.
Bennett sat on the opposite side of the long mahogany table, flanked by a public defender. His high-priced corporate defense attorneys had dropped him the moment his firm invalidated his partnership equity to clear their own liability. He looked completely broken—his hair unkempt, his tailored suit hanging loosely on a frame that had lost fifteen pounds from pure stress.
Grace slid a single sheet of paper across the table.
"This is the global settlement agreement, Mr. Vance," Grace said, her voice dripping with clinical authority. "You will waive all claims to the marital home, the primary investment portfolios, and Helena’s corporate retirement accounts. Furthermore, you will sign an unconditional confession regarding the forgery of the power of attorney document dated October fourteenth."
Bennett looked at the paper, his hands shaking as he picked up a cheap plastic pen. He looked at me, his eyes wide with a desperate, pathetic pleading.
"Helena... if I sign this, the state prosecutor said they’ll reduce the charges to a misdemeanor probation," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I won't have to go to prison. Please... tell me you’re doing this out of some shred of what we used to have."
I looked at the man I had loved for six years. I looked at him and didn't see a husband, an enemy, or a lover. I saw a bad asset that had finally been purged from my ledger.
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"I’m doing this because I’m an accountant, Bennett," I said, leaning forward slightly, my eyes locking onto his with absolute finality. "And an accountant never lets a fraudulent entry remain on the books. Sign the paper so I can close the account."
With a shaky hand, Bennett pressed the pen to the paper and signed his name, officially terminating our marriage and surrendering every single asset he had ever tried to steal from me.
