PART 2

Douglas called my phone exactly thirty-four times before noon, but I didn’t answer a single one of his desperate attempts.

I was sitting quietly in the corporate office of my attorney, Daphne Higgins, with a heavy manila folder full of documents I’d been keeping for weeks.

On the large mahogany table lay detailed bank statements, unpaid invoices, printed emails, property deeds, and internal audit reports from Arrowhead Distribution.

Daphne watched the entire kitchen video on her laptop without a single interruption or comment.

When Cynthia’s recorded voice said that Douglas should keep what was rightfully his, my lawyer closed her laptop and looked at me with icy calm.

“This financial bleeding didn’t just start yesterday, did it, Cora?” she asked softly, and I slowly shook my head.