Chapter 6
Jonathan asked to see me.
I said no.
Then he asked again through his attorney.
Still no.
Then he sent flowers to my office.
White roses.
The card read:
We made a mistake. Don’t destroy us.
I sent the flowers to evidence because one stem had a small listening device taped beneath the leaves.
Detective Ortiz stared at it.
“He is either very stupid or very confident.”
“Both,” I said.
The device connected to an app registered to Caleb.
Caleb panicked first.
He told police Florence had ordered him to watch me.
Florence had told him I was mentally unstable.
Florence had told him Jonathan needed proof I was conspiring against the family.
“Conspiring how?” Ortiz asked.
Caleb said, “By leaving.”
That sentence stayed with me.
In their world, a woman leaving was treason.
The divorce hearing was scheduled within ten days.
Jonathan came wearing a gray suit and regret he probably practiced in a mirror.
When he saw me, his eyes filled.
“Charlotte.”
I looked past him.
Diana squeezed my arm.
Inside court, his lawyer argued the marriage could be saved.
Diana played the voicemail.
A woman who humiliates a man deserves correction.
The judge’s face hardened.
Then Diana entered medical photos.
Police reports.
The forged loan.
The attempted burglary.
The listening device.
Temporary protective order granted.
Exclusive use of my legal name restored.
All marital claims frozen.
Jonathan turned toward me.
“You’re really going to throw away two years?”
I looked at him.
“No, Jonathan. I am counting them correctly.”
Florence lunged at Diana in the hallway after the hearing.
Security stopped her.
She screamed, “You rich women think laws are for you!”
May you like
Diana smiled.
“No, Florence. Today they are for Charlotte.”
