“This is revenge!”
“No, Vanessa.”
I paused.
“Revenge would be trying to publicly humiliate her. This is simply enforcing an agreement.”
She became quiet.
Then she laughed bitterly.
“You think you’re powerful because you own one house?”
“No.”
I opened another document on my laptop.
It was the financial package Vanessa herself had sent me six months earlier.
The same documents she had given me when she asked for professional advice.
Eight months of unpaid payroll taxes.
Suspicious vendor invoices.
Personal purchases listed as business expenses.
And one issue that was much more serious.
A loan application bearing Robert’s signature.
Except Robert had never approved it.
“You remember those records you sent me?” I asked.
“So?”
“You gave me everything.”
Her breathing changed.
“And yesterday, you sent threats to me in writing.”
There was a pause.
“You wouldn’t.”
I looked across the room.
Lily was sitting near our small Christmas tree, coloring quietly.
