My friends had asked if I needed a place to stay, and my doctor had asked about my stress levels, but this was different. I tried to answer, but the words were caught in my throat for a few agonizing seconds.
I finally shook my head and whispered that I did not feel safe at all. Harrison exploded in anger and claimed that my statement was absurd because I had left the house of my own free will.
I turned to face him and told everyone that I left because he had canceled my credit cards at the local pharmacy. I explained that he had threatened to change the locks while I was at a prenatal appointment and that I was terrified of being homeless.
“I left because Tiffany sent me photos of my own nursery and told me it looked better without me in it,” I added. The room was so quiet you could hear the clock ticking on the wall behind the judge’s head.
“The evidence of those messages is right here in the file,” the judge said while cutting off Tiffany’s attempt to lie. Tiffany sat down as if the strength had been drained from her legs, and Harrison stared at me with a look of pure hatred.
He was not angry because I was lying, but because I had finally found the courage to tell the truth in public. The doors opened again, and Simon Fletcher walked into the room with his tie loosened and a visible bruise on his cheekbone.
He apologized for the delay and explained that someone had intentionally blocked his car in the parking garage that morning. He also reported that his mobile phone had been stolen from his desk while he was speaking with a client.
“I have the courier receipts and copies of the emails your assistant sent to delay my arrival,” Simon said while looking directly at Harrison. Harrison tried to laugh it off as a ridiculous conspiracy theory, but his voice was thin and unconvincing.
The judge warned Harrison’s attorney to control his client before he made the situation even worse for himself. Each order the judge issued after that felt like a brick being removed from the wall Harrison had built around my life.
He granted a temporary protection order and gave me exclusive use of our home while the divorce was pending. He ordered the immediate reinstatement of my medical insurance and froze every single bank account associated with Harrison’s firm.
He also launched a formal investigation into the fraudulent transfer of the Miller Manor properties. Harrison objected to every single point, but the judge overruled him with a finality that was breathtaking to witness.
