“We have nothing.”

She flinched as if I’d struck her.

“The ticket was bought on my personal card at six o’clock this morning,” I went on, low enough that only she could hear.

“Virginia splits marital property, but pre-marital assets and lottery winnings claimed after a formal separation — with public proof of abandonment and fraud — don’t get divided down the middle.

My attorneys are already filing the emergency separation papers.”

She stared, finally understanding that the quiet, dutiful husband she’d taken for granted for eight years was simply gone.