For Seven Years I Sent Forty Thousand Dollars Every January, Until Emma Finally Spoke

We walked back to the small office together.

“What’s in the envelope?” I asked.

Carl sat down in the wooden chair across from my desk.

“A county sheriff’s deputy just dropped this off at my firm,” Carl said.

“Mark filed a formal restraining order against you.”

I sat down heavily in my desk chair.

“On what legal grounds?” I asked.

“Harassment and stalking,” Carl said.