Chapter 7 - The Final Divorce
Three months after the criminal trials concluded, I sat in a small conference room at the King County Family Court.
My divorce from Neil Duncan was finalized.
Under the terms of the decree, I was granted sole legal custody, sole physical custody, and complete decision-making authority over Micah. Neil was granted no visitation rights during his incarceration, and post-release visitation was contingent upon five years of court-monitored psychological therapy and child safety evaluations.
The family house on Elmwood Lane in Maple Valley—which had been purchased in both our names before the scandal—was sold under a court order.
After liquidating the property and clearing the mortgage, my half of the equity amounted to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
I didn't keep a single cent of Neil’s money. Every dollar recovered from the Duncan estate was placed directly into an irrevocable educational and medical trust for Micah, managed independently by my sister Clara and Jonathan Reyes.
As I signed the final decree, Jonathan handed me a gold pen.
"It’s over, Adriana," Jonathan said with a warm, genuine smile. "You are completely free."
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I held the pen in my hand. For the first time in five years, the heavy, suffocating weight that had rested on my chest since the day I met Whitney Duncan lifted entirely.
I signed my name across the bottom line: ADRIANA HAYES.
