Chapter 18 - The Deposition
Eric thought he could outsmart the legal system. He hired a sleazy, cut-rate attorney who filed a motion claiming Eric was entitled to half the equity appreciation of the apartment during our marriage, arguing he had "contributed to its upkeep."
Denise scheduled a deposition.
We sat in a sterile conference room. Eric looked terrible. He had lost weight, his expensive suit looked baggy, and the arrogance had entirely vanished from his eyes.
“Mr. Dalton,” Denise began, sliding a folder across the table. “You claim you contributed to the financial upkeep of the Tribeca property, justifying a claim to its equity. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Eric mumbled.
Denise pulled out the bank records. “Can you explain why, for the last eight months of your marriage, zero dollars from your personal accounts went toward the mortgage, HOA, or utilities?”
Eric’s lawyer objected, but Eric waved him off. “I paid for groceries. I paid for dinners.”
Denise smiled. “Ah, yes. The dinners.” She pulled out the corporate credit card audit from his former employer. “The same dinners you fraudulently charged to your company card, resulting in your termination for cause?”
Eric turned pale.
Then, Denise pulled out the text message transcripts. She read them aloud, her voice ringing out in the quiet room. She read the words Tribeca goldmine and I know what I’m doing.
“Mr. Dalton,” Denise said, leaning forward. “Did you enter this marriage with the premeditated intent to extract financial assets from my client?”
Eric couldn’t speak. His lawyer immediately halted the deposition and asked for a recess.
Ten minutes later, in the hallway, Eric’s lawyer approached Denise. They were dropping the claim for the apartment. They were dropping the request for alimony. Eric just wanted to sign the papers and walk away.
I had won. I kept my home, my money, and my dignity.
May you like
But the victory felt hollow. I had wasted years of my life on a man who saw me as nothing more than a bank account.
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