Chapter 13 - THE DIVORCE
He wanted half.
Not because he expected to get half.
Because numbers make headlines.
JULIAN VANCE CLAIMS SPOUSAL SHARE OF BILLION-DOLLAR HOLDING COMPANY.
Northstar predated the marriage.
Separate property.
Prenup.
Trust structure.
He knew.
Still filed.
Then he alleged I hid marital assets.
Technically, I had hidden scale.
Not ownership.
That distinction mattered.
His attorney asked in deposition.
“Did your husband know your net worth?”
“No.”
“Did you intentionally conceal it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I thought about Julian’s early charm.
How he talked about women who “married up.”
How he liked being the impressive one.
The truthful answer was not flattering to either of us.
“Because I wanted to know whether he loved me without it.”
His attorney smiled.
“And did he?”
I looked at Julian across the table.
“I don’t know.”
For once, he looked hurt.
Good.
Or not good.
Just true.
Then his attorney produced one more surprise.
A handwritten note from my mother.
Audrey,
Marriage requires transparency.
My throat tightened.
I knew that note.
Different context.
My mother wrote it after my father hid debt.
Julian’s lawyer tried to use it against me.
I almost laughed.
Then Rebecca asked for the original.
They had only a scan.
Forensic review showed the bottom half had been cropped.
The full note continued.
Transparency does not mean surrendering autonomy to someone who punishes you for having it.
My mother had somehow entered the divorce like a witness.
Julian looked furious.
Then the settlement judge asked.
“What does Mr. Vance actually want?”
Julian answered.
“Fairness.”
I said.
“No.”
Everyone looked at me.
“He wants access.”
Julian stared.
“That’s what he has always wanted.”
“My time.”
“My name.”
“My money.”
“My silence.”
“I’m done financing access.”
The judge called a recess.
Outside, Camilla’s lawyer called Rebecca.
Camilla wanted to testify in the divorce.
In exchange, she wanted me to support leniency in the criminal case.
“No.”
Rebecca asked.
“You don’t want to hear what she has?”
“I do.”
“But I’m not buying it.”
Camilla testified anyway.
She revealed Julian had a second prenup draft.
One he intended to substitute if I ever amended the original.
He had forged my initials on three pages.
The family court referred it to prosecutors.
The divorce case stopped being about money.
It became another crime scene.
---
(To be continued)
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