Chapter 8 - The Paperwork of Freedom
|
I pulled a folder from my handbag with my good right hand and slid it across the table toward him.
“What’s this?” he whispered, staring at the white pages.
“Divorce papers,” I said flatly. “Along with a full waiver of any claim to my military pension, my disability benefits, or any assets held under my name. You sign them now, or the prosecutor adds three more counts of aggravated domestic assault to your docket.”
Ethan stared at the document, his hand shaking uncontrollably.
“You planned this,” he muttered, a flicker of his old bitter resentment surfacing. “You knew they were watching me!”
“I didn't know a thing until General Hayes stepped up on that stage,” I corrected him. “I was just surviving you, Ethan. But now? Now I’m ending you.”
The door opened, and Agent Ross stepped inside, carrying a pen.
“You have two minutes to sign, Mr. Vance,” Ross said, his voice completely devoid of sympathy. “Otherwise, the deal on the civil asset forfeiture is off, and we take your family’s house in Bethesda immediately.”
Ethan looked at me, pleading with his eyes one last time for a sign of soft forgiveness. He found nothing in my face except cold marble.
Defeated, he grabbed the pen with his trembling fingers and scribbled his signature on the bottom line.
May you like
I picked up the signed papers, placed them neatly back into my bag, and stood up from the table.
“Goodbye, Ethan,” I said without looking back as I walked out the heavy steel door.
