Chapter 17 - The Divorce Andrew Refused to Sign
I filed for divorce the same afternoon.
Andrew refused to sign.
Through his attorney, he demanded half of every asset connected to my name.
He still believed marriage entitled him to what manipulation had failed to secure.
The court froze his remaining personal legal accounts.
He signed six hours later.
At the final hearing, he looked thinner.
Older.
But the arrogance remained.
“You would still have nothing without Rafael.”
I looked at him across the courtroom.
“I had nothing while I was married to you.”
He smiled bitterly.
“I loved you.”
“No. You loved the version of me who stayed quiet.”
“That is not fair.”
“You planned our meeting.”
“I did not plan ten years.”
“You planned enough.”
He looked down.
For one second, I saw the man I thought I married.
Then I remembered that man had never existed without a contract behind him.
The judge finalized the divorce.
Andrew lost every company financed through Escalante debt.
His personal assets were seized during the fraud case.
Brenda testified against him.
Margaret testified too.
He accepted a plea agreement carrying twelve years in federal prison.
As officers led him away, he turned toward me.
“Was freezing everything worth losing everyone?”
I answered quietly.
“I did not lose everyone.”
“I learned who was never mine.”
Outside the courthouse, rain began falling.
For a moment, it sounded like the night of the slap.
May you like
But this time, I did not feel trapped beneath a chandelier.
I stood in the open air.
