Chapter 6 - The Glass Desk Consultation
The private conference room at Vance & Sterling Legal Counsel smelled of aged leather, polished mahogany, and expensive scotch. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the glittering lights of the downtown skyline stretched out like a circuit board against the darkening night sky.
Harrison Vance sat across the sleek glass table, his silver-streaked hair neatly parted and his tailored charcoal suit conveying an effortless, terrifying competence. He looked down at the file I had just slid across the surface—containing the bank statements, the recurring lease transfers to Unit 4B, and my hastily scribbled notes.
“You’ve been funding his second life and his mistress’s housing for over three years while working double shifts as a medical transcriber, Mrs. Carter?” Harrison asked, his voice low, steady, and razor-sharp.
“I have,” I replied evenly, resting my hands on the edge of the table. “And every penny was siphoned under the guise of fake medical emergencies, experimental treatments, and collapsing business equipment.”
Harrison steepled his fingers, a cold, predatory smile touching the corners of his mouth. “Mark picked the wrong woman to underestimate. Under state law, marital assets dissipated for extramarital affairs and fraudulent misrepresentation are subject to severe clawback provisions. If we execute a freezing injunction on every joint account, corporate ledger, and personal line of credit he touches first thing tomorrow morning, he won't even be able to buy a cup of coffee without our permission.”
“Do it,” I said. “And I want a full forensic audit of whatever business front he claims to run. I suspect the illness wasn't the only thing he was faking.”
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Harrison nodded, pulling a pristine legal pad toward him. “Consider it done. But before we file, we need to address the elephant in the room. What about your personal funds? Any lottery winnings, independent inheritances, or windfalls acquired after date of separation are strictly protected, but if any joint funds touched—”
I unzipped my handbag, reached inside, and placed the folded, unclipped lottery ticket worth one hundred million dollars directly in the center of the glass table.
