Chapter 1 - The Counter-Attack
The room felt like it was shrinking. Rebecca’s smirk didn't waver. She thought she had me cornered. She thought I was just the "unstable, pregnant nurse" she could push around.
But as I looked at the "Emergency Family Financial Petition" on the table, I didn’t cry. I didn't beg. I smiled. It was a cold, sharp smile that made Evan shift uncomfortably.
"You think this is a bank file?" I asked, my voice steady, betraying none of the terror vibrating in my limbs.
I opened the folder. It wasn't bank statements. It was a thick stack of printed emails, bank records, and a private investigator's report I had commissioned three months ago when I first noticed Rebecca’s boutique was struggling.
I slapped the documents onto the table, covering her petition.
"This," I said, pointing to the top page, "is proof that you’ve been embezzling funds from your boutique’s supplier accounts. And this," I flipped to the next page, "is proof that you’ve been using Evan’s personal credit card to pay off your private lender. Do you want to know what the lender’s name is, Rebecca? Because I think the authorities would love to know why you’re borrowing from a known loan shark."
Evan’s face drained of blood. "Natalie, what is this?"
"It's the reason you're going to get divorced, Evan," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "And Rebecca? If you file that petition, I will walk into the nearest police station with this entire file. How do you think a judge will view your 'financial responsibility' when you’re facing felony fraud charges?"
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The silence that followed was heavy. Rebecca’s face, once gloating, had twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated panic. She reached for the documents, but I pulled them back.
"Leave," I said. "Now. Or the police will be here in ten minutes."
