Chapter 1 - The Departure
“It’s exactly what it looks like, Grant,” I said, my voice carrying cleanly down the wooden staircase.
I didn't tremble. I didn't raise my voice. I kept one hand protectively over my eight-month-pregnant stomach and held Lily’s small hand with the other.
Grant’s arrogant posture stiffened. Behind him, in the dining room, his mother and brother were suddenly entirely silent. Tessa appeared in the doorway, the smug smile slipping off her face as she realized I wasn't throwing a hysterical tantrum. I was executing an exit strategy.
“You can’t leave, Mara,” Grant said, stepping toward the bottom stair, trying to inject a tone of patronizing concern into his voice. “Look at you. You’re erratic. You’re packing bags in the middle of dinner. You aren’t in any condition to drive, let alone take the children.”
He was still playing to his audience. He still thought he was building his case for the custody evaluator he had already secretly contacted.
I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. I tapped the screen once.
The digital recorder app played his own voice back to him, crystal clear and echoing in the grand foyer.
“The guest suite is empty, and this house is large enough for everyone to behave like adults... Tessa and I are together. She'll be staying here.”
Grant went completely pale.
“I’m not erratic, Grant. I’m meticulously prepared,” I corrected him. “You spent six months laying the groundwork to have me declared an unfit, unstable mother so you could take my children and my family's trust fund. But it’s very hard to prove a woman is suffering from prenatal hysteria when there is high-definition audio of her husband inflicting psychological abuse by moving his mistress into her home.”
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I pressed a button on my phone, and the heavy oak front door swung open. Two private security guards I had hired three days ago stepped into the foyer. They picked up the suitcases.
“You have until tomorrow morning to enjoy this house, Grant,” I said, stepping past him into the cool night air. “Because tomorrow, you are going to learn exactly whose name is on the deed.”
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