Chapter 14 - Monday - The Lawyer
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At 9:00 AM on Monday, I sat in the plush, mahogany-paneled office of Eleanor Vance, one of the most ruthlessly efficient divorce attorneys in Phoenix.
I slid a heavily tabbed binder across her expansive desk.
“What’s this?” she asked, peering over her tortoiseshell glasses.
“Everything,” I replied flatly. “The deed to the apartment, entirely in my name, purchased prior to the marriage. A forensic breakdown of my earnings versus his. And most importantly, bank statements proving my husband secretly siphoned forty-eight thousand dollars of marital funds to his mother and sister without my consent.”
Eleanor opened the binder. Her eyes rapidly scanned the highlighted financial transfers. A slow, appreciative smirk spread across her face.
“Dissipation of marital assets,” she murmured, tapping a manicured fingernail against the paper. “ Judges despise this. He basically gifted away your community property in secret.”
“I want a divorce, Eleanor. Fast and bloodless on my end. But I want every cent of that forty-eight thousand recouped from his share of whatever minor assets we have left. And I want him out of my apartment by Friday.”
Eleanor leaned back in her leather chair, steepling her fingers. “Evicting a spouse from the marital home is tricky, even if it’s your premarital asset. However, if he voluntarily leaves with his belongings, and you change the locks… it becomes a civil matter where he'd have to petition to re-enter.”
“He will be leaving voluntarily,” I said, my voice cold as ice. “He just doesn't know it yet.”
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“I will draft the divorce petition immediately, citing financial infidelity,” Eleanor said, closing the binder. “I can have the papers ready by Wednesday. You serve him whenever you see fit.”
“Oh, I know exactly when I'm serving him,” I replied. “Friday morning. 5:00 AM.”
