Chapter 12 - The Divorce Settlement
While the criminal trial was being prepared, my divorce proceedings moved forward at lightning speed.
Because Julian’s assets were officially frozen by the government, he had absolutely no money to pay a good lawyer.
He was represented by an exhausted public defender who had no time for his arrogant complaining.
I sat across from Julian in a sterile conference room, flanked by my brilliant legal team.
Julian looked hollow, his eyes sunken and his skin pale from weeks in the detention center.
My lawyer slid the final divorce settlement across the massive wooden table.
I was taking the penthouse, the investment portfolios, and all of his remaining clean liquid assets.
Julian stared at the papers, tears silently tracking down his dirty face.
"You are leaving me with nothing, Clara. I won't even have a place to live when I get out," he whispered.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and looked him dead in the eyes.
"You left me bleeding on a floor in front of sixty people, Julian," I reminded him coldly.
I told him that I was leaving him with exactly the amount of respect he had always shown me.
Julian slowly picked up the cheap plastic pen and signed his name on the dotted line.
May you like
I took the paperwork, stood up, and walked out of the room without looking back.
I was officially free from the Sterling family curse forever.
