Daniel moved closer.
“Claire, enough. We can talk privately.”
“Now you want privacy?”
His jaw tightened.
I crossed to the living room desk and pulled out another folder.
Daniel recognized it immediately.
The deed to our home.
He stared at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Correcting another misunderstanding.”
When my father died, he left me the house through a separate inheritance trust. Daniel had never been placed on the title.
He knew that once.
Apparently eleven years of marriage had made him forget.
I placed another document beside the deed.
A notice from my lawyer.
“You can’t throw me out of my own house,” Daniel snapped.
“I’m not throwing you out tonight.”
His shoulders loosened.
“Good.”
“I’m giving you forty-eight hours, as my attorney instructed. After that, any attempt to remain becomes a legal matter.”
Vanessa whispered, “Daniel…”
He ignored her.
Then his phone began ringing.
He checked the screen.
His business partner.
He rejected the call.
It rang again.
And again.
I smiled faintly.
Daniel noticed.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing illegal.”
A message appeared on his phone.
He read it.
His face collapsed.
The company’s emergency credit line had been suspended.
The lender had uncovered undisclosed withdrawals and personal spending from corporate accounts.
Daniel looked at me as if he were finally seeing me clearly.
Daniel followed me into the kitchen.
“Claire, don’t be insane.”
I turned slowly.
“Insane?”
“This doesn’t have to destroy everything.”
Behind him, Michael laughed bitterly.
“You invited my wife to live in your wife’s house.”
Daniel snapped, “Stay out of this.”
Michael stepped forward.
“You made it my business.”
Vanessa started crying.
Not the delicate tears she had probably shown Daniel.
These were panicked, messy tears.
“Michael, please. Daniel told me he was leaving Claire.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You told me you were divorced.”
“I was going to!”
“When?”
“Soon!”
I watched as they immediately began turning on each other.
It was almost disappointing how fast arrogance transformed into cowardice.
Daniel faced me again.
“Claire, I made a mistake.”
“No. You made a plan.”
His expression hardened.
“You think you can take everything?”
