You look at the papers again.
“Who is Evan Mills?”
Her lips press together.
“My attorney.”
“He’s not an attorney. He’s your boss.”
“He understands asset protection.”
“From your husband?”
“From a man who would rather drag me down than let me move on.”
There it is.
The story she has been rehearsing.
You are controlling.
You are unstable.
You are the obstacle.
You look at the woman you married and realize she has already left the marriage in every way except legally. Not with grief. Not with honesty. With strategy.
“Laura is part of this?”
Veronica does not answer.
That is answer enough.
“You were going to take the house,” you say quietly. “The rental. The savings. The insurance. Everything.”
She tilts her head.
“You always wanted to be the good man, Ricardo. The provider. The quiet one. So stay quiet now.”
