“About those bank accounts,” I interjected, unwilling to let them forget the rest of the damage. I pulled the final legal document from my bag. “David, you might want to check your phone. The emergency injunction was approved at 5:00 PM. Your accounts, the offshore LLC, the investment portfolios—they are all frozen by a federal judge pending our divorce settlement. You tried to leave me with nothing while carrying your children. Now, you have exactly the clothes on your back.”
David lifted his head. His eyes were red, brimming with tears of absolute defeat. “Lauren… I was manipulated. She got in my head. I thought—”
“You thought exactly what you wanted to think,” I cut him off, my voice sharp and merciless. “You didn’t ask questions. You didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt. You used my supposed infidelity as an excuse to clear your conscience so you could sleep with her.”
I looked around the room. The faces of the family members who had judged me, who had whispered behind my back, were now etched with shock and shame.
“Enjoy your dinner,” I said, turning on my heel.
I took exactly three steps toward the hallway when the adrenaline abruptly crashed out of my system.
A sharp, agonizing cramp ripped through my lower abdomen. It wasn’t a dull ache; it was a violent, tearing sensation that stole the breath from my lungs. I gasped, my knees buckling. I grabbed the edge of a side table to catch my fall, sending a silver candlestick crashing to the marble floor.
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