Chapter 9 - NO MORE EXCUSES
I did not cry.
I expected to.
Instead, I listened.
Jared answered Dwight's question with the confidence of a man who thought he understood every weakness in the world.
"Six months should be enough. Maybe less if she signs voluntarily."
Susan's voice followed.
"Elizabeth wants a family. Give her one. Make her feel secure. Women sign anything when they think they're building a home."
My skin crawled.
Then Dwight said, "And if she refuses?"
Jared laughed.
"Then we make marriage uncomfortable."
The recording ended.
Amy whispered a curse.
Ryan stared at the floor.
Christopher closed the laptop.
"That's significant."
"It's disgusting."
"It's also evidence."
The next morning, Dwight's lawyer called requesting settlement discussions.
I almost refused.
Christopher advised me to listen.
We met in a neutral conference room.
Dwight looked smaller than he had on our wedding day.
His attorney did most of the talking.
They offered immediate annulment.
Return of twenty thousand dollars.
Mutual confidentiality.
No cooperation with criminal investigators beyond what was legally required.
I looked at Dwight.
"Twenty thousand?"
He swallowed.
"It's what I can get."
"You helped take forty-eight."
"I know."
"You helped cash wedding gifts."
His eyes closed.
"I know."
"You asked how long you had to stay married to me before you could reach my trust."
His attorney stiffened.
Dwight stared at me.
"You have that recording?"
"Yes."
His face collapsed.
For the first time, I saw what truth looked like when it arrived too late.
"Liz, I did love you."
"Maybe."
He blinked.
I leaned forward.
"But love that keeps a spreadsheet on how to break someone isn't love I need to understand."
Christopher slid the settlement papers back.
"Rejected."
Dwight's attorney sighed.
"What does your client want?"
I answered before Christopher could.
"Everything returned that can be returned. Full disclosure. No confidentiality. And cooperation with investigators."
Dwight whispered, "My dad will go to prison."
"That stopped being my problem when he hit me."
His face hardened for the first time.
"You smashed his table."
I almost smiled.
There he was.
The man I married.
Still searching for symmetry where there was none.
Christopher stood.
"We're done."
As we reached the door, Dwight spoke behind me.
"Ashley has the original ledger."
I stopped.
"What ledger?"
He looked at his lawyer, then at me.
"The one that shows who else Dad did this to."
---
(To be continued)
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