Chapter 6 - I Let Him Think I Was DefeatedWe didn't tell Brandon about the forensic evidence.
We didn't tell him about the forged signatures.
We didn't tell him the banks had frozen the accounts.
Instead, I sent him one message.
I need time to think.
He replied immediately.
That's all I'm asking.
Claire helped me draft another message.
I'll meet you Friday. Bring the separation agreement.
He agreed.
That was exactly what we wanted.
Friday afternoon, I walked into a quiet restaurant downtown.
Brandon was already waiting.
He looked confident.
Almost relieved.
He stood when I approached.
“You look tired.”
“I am.”
He reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“Let's just talk.”
He sighed.
“I'm sorry about your mother.”
“No, you're not.”
His jaw tightened.
“I lost my temper.”
“You hit her.”
“She provoked me.”
I stared at him.
“That's your apology?”
He looked away.
Then he placed a folder on the table.
“The separation agreement.”
I didn't touch it.
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand.”
I laughed.
“That's insulting.”
“It's fair.”
“For seven years?”
“You'll be free.”
I leaned back.
“And you?”
“I keep the house.”
“And the savings?”
“We split what's left.”
“There isn't much left.”
He smiled.
“Exactly.”
I studied him.
He believed I was desperate.
He believed I didn't know.
He believed I was still the woman who would apologize to keep peace.
“Okay,” I said.
He blinked.
“Okay?”
“I'll sign.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“But I want one thing.”
“What?”
“I want my mother out of this.”
He frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Leave her alone.”
He smiled.
“Fine.”
“And I want twenty-four hours before signing.”
“Why?”
“I need to read everything.”
He nodded.
“Tomorrow.”
I stood.
As I walked away, I heard him call after me.
“Elena?”
I turned.
He smiled.
“You're making the right choice.”
I smiled back.
“You have no idea.”
Outside, Claire was waiting.
“How did it go?”
“He thinks I'm signing.”
“Good.”
We drove directly to the courthouse.
The fraud complaint had been accepted.
The judge approved emergency restrictions preventing Brandon from transferring marital property.
Then Claire showed me something.
A surveillance photograph.
Brandon entering the new house.
With Jessica.
They were carrying boxes.
I stared at the image.
“How long has she been living there?”
“Three months.”
Three months.
While I was cooking dinner.
While I was paying bills.
While I was worrying about his mother.
He had been furnishing a new home.
Then another photograph appeared.
Jessica was pregnant.
I couldn't breathe for a moment.
Claire quietly said:
“We're confirming it.”
I closed my eyes.
The affair suddenly became more complicated.
Then we discovered another document.
A life insurance policy.
Brandon had increased the coverage six months earlier.
The beneficiary was Jessica.
I stared at the page.
“Why would he do that?”
Claire looked at the dates.
“Because he was planning a future with her.”
But there was something even stranger.
The policy required medical underwriting.
And the application listed me as the policyholder.
I had never signed it.
Claire looked at me.
“He forged another signature.”
I felt the last remaining piece of doubt disappear.
This wasn't a bad marriage.
May you like
It was a calculated betrayal.
And now, finally, Brandon had given us enough evidence to bring everything crashing down.
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