Chapter 5 - The Midnight Lockout
Back at the luxury high-rise condominium, the last of the police units had departed by two-thirty in the morning. Elena remained in the kitchen, brewing a fresh pot of herbal tea while two commercial locksmiths worked furiously on the front door.
The heavy thuds of drills and deadbolts echoing through the hallway sounded like the rhythm of liberation.
"High-security electronic deadbolt installed, Ms. Miller," the locksmith announced, handing me a set of heavy brass keys and a biometric registration card. "The keypad requires a six-digit randomized PIN plus your fingerprint. The old fobs, the old keys, and the garage transponders are completely wiped from the building system."
"Thank you, David," I said, handing him his payment with a generous tip. "Please make sure the patio door sensors are activated as well."
Once the door was sealed, I walked into the master bathroom. For the first time since the attack, I forced myself to look into the full-length mirror.
The sight took my breath away, but not with despair.
Trevor had hacked away at the right side of my hair, leaving jagged, five-inch chunks near the temple, while the left side still flowed past my shoulders. It looked chaotic, violent, and meant to disfigure.
Elena leaned against the bathroom doorway, watching me quietly. "We can call a stylist in the morning, Clara. A friend of mine specializes in corrective cuts. She can give you a sleek, asymmetrical bob or a modern pixie."
I ran my fingers through the remaining chestnut strands, feeling the air against my exposed neck. "I don't want to hide it, Elena. I want the judge to see every single inch of this hack job tomorrow morning at the arraignment. And then, once they are denied bail, I will cut it short. Not because Trevor took it from me, but because I am shedding every trace of the life I shared with him."
Elena smiled, a fierce, predatory grin. "Speaking of shedding traces, look at what the forensic accountant just pulled from Trevor's private laptop."
She handed me a tablet displaying a bank statement from First National.
"While you were at work yesterday," Elena explained, "Trevor attempted to initiate an unauthorized wire transfer of sixty thousand dollars from your premarital corporate account into an offshore entity. He forged your digital signature using an outdated notarized power of attorney that your father revoked five years before he passed."
"Did the wire go through?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
"No," Elena said coldly. "The bank flagged it due to the fraud prevention protocol we put in place last month. The funds are frozen, and the attempted wire is now Exhibit C on the federal wire fraud indictment."
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I looked down at the paper, then back up at the mirror. "He didn't just want my money, Elena. He wanted to leave me destitute so I would have no choice but to stay with him."
"And instead," Elena said, "he just handed you the undisputed grounds for an immediate, fault-based divorce with zero alimony and total asset preservation."
