“Your Honor, Mr. Vance has steady employment, a secure residence, and a reliable family support network. Mrs. Vance currently has no income, no legal representation, and a history of unpredictable behavior.”
“Unpredictable?” I asked quietly.
The attorney smiled.
“We have witnesses.”
Eleanor immediately stood.
“She yelled at my son in front of Noah. She broke dishes. Sometimes she locked herself in the bathroom for hours.”
“That happened after Julian changed the locks on our bedroom,” I replied evenly.
Julian lowered his head as though deeply disappointed.
“Evelyn, please. Don’t do this here.”
There it was again.
The performance.
The exhausted husband.
The endlessly patient victim.
Then Chloe leaned toward Julian and whispered something.
Julian reached beneath the table and squeezed her hand.
He apparently thought no one noticed.
I did.
More importantly, Judge Thorne did too.
The judge turned toward me.
“Mrs. Vance, do you have evidence addressing these accusations?”
I opened the folder in front of me.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
I removed several stacks of documents.
Bank statements.
Tax records.
Corporate disclosures.
Certified transaction histories.
“I conducted a forensic review of our finances. Over the past eighteen months, I identified forty-two separate transfers from my husband’s company into an offshore account in Nevis. I also documented rent payments for Ms. Bennett’s apartment that were made using marital funds.”
Julian’s attorney immediately stood.
“Objection! These are unverified allegations presented without formal discovery—”
“Overruled.”
Judge Thorne began studying the documents delivered to her by the bailiff.
“These appear to be certified banking records, Counsel.”
She looked directly at Julian.
“And your client’s signature appears on them.”
The color disappeared from Julian’s face.
He turned toward me with a look I had seen many times behind closed doors.
But before his attorney could say anything else, a small voice came from the side of the courtroom.
“Your Honor?”
Everyone turned.
