Chapter 2 - The Shark in a Suit
I didn't cry when I walked out of the clinic. I walked to my car with my spine straight, the ultrasound printout clutched in my hand like a shield.
By the time I started my engine, my phone had blown up with fourteen missed calls and six texts from David.
Sarah, please pick up. We need to talk. I made a mistake. Please, just let me explain.
I blocked his number. Then, I blocked Chloe’s number. Then, I blocked his mother, his sister, and every single mutual friend who had liked his infamous "trash taking itself out" winery photo.
I didn't drive home. I drove directly downtown, pulling up to a towering glass-and-steel building that housed the most ruthless family law firm in the state. I had done my research during the long, agonizing nights on my bathroom floor. If you wanted a fair divorce, you hired a mediator. If your husband abandoned you while pregnant and tried to publicly destroy your reputation, you hired Victoria Sterling.
Victoria was fifty, sharply dressed in a tailored crimson suit, with eyes like a hawk and a reputation for financially eviscerating unfaithful spouses.
I sat across her massive mahogany desk, sliding the ultrasound photo and the insulting settlement document David had tried to force me to sign across the polished wood.
Victoria read the settlement first. A slow, terrifying smile spread across her face.
"He wants the house, zero alimony, and a reimbursement for 'wasted time'?" She let out a dry, rattling laugh. "Oh, honey. He drafted this himself, didn't he? Or his little paralegal girlfriend did. This wouldn't hold up in a mock trial, let alone a real court."
Then, she looked at the ultrasound. "Sixteen weeks. Conceived before the vasectomy."
"He threw me away because he thought I cheated," I said, my voice steady. "He humiliated me on the internet. He turned my neighborhood against me. I don't want to just divorce him, Ms. Sterling. I want everything he owns."
Victoria folded her hands under her chin, her eyes gleaming with predatory delight.
May you like
"Sarah, by the time I am done with David Hayes, he will be paying you alimony, child support, and legal fees. He will lose the house. But more importantly, we are going to do a deep forensic dive into his finances. Men who bolt this fast and accuse their wives of cheating usually have skeletons rattling around in their own closets."
She handed me a tissue box, though I wasn't crying. "Go home. Change the locks. If he shows up, call the police. The war starts today."
