Chapter 4 Sign or Lose Everything

"Are you entering into this divorce voluntarily?" The clerk behind the counter looked up at us, suspicion sharpening her expression.

I opened my mouth to answer, "No—"

Before I could get the word out, Jesse dug her fingers hard into the webbing between my thumb and index finger. Pain shot through my hand, cutting me off.

The clerk frowned and asked me again whether I was agreeing to the divorce of my own free will.

Before I could answer, Jesse placed her other hand on the back of my neck and forced my head forward once, then twice, as if a nod she had somehow wrung out of me counted as consent.

The clerk stood up. "Stop it, ma'am. You cannot physically coerce someone into consenting to a divorce."

Jesse let out a cold laugh and finally released me. "Fine. Ask him again."

I lifted my head, and when I spoke, my voice came out steadier than I'd expected. "I don't consent."

Jesse's expression changed instantly.

The clerk pulled the paperwork back toward herself. "In that case, I can't process this today. You'll need to resolve this before we can move forward."

I immediately yanked my hand away from Jesse and pulled out my phone to call Dominic.

He picked up almost immediately.

"Dom, Jesse dragged me to the courthouse and is trying to force me into a divorce. Gideon's across the street threatening to jump, and the press is everywhere."

Jesse lunged for my phone, but I stepped back before she could grab it.

"Go ahead, Jesse. I dare you. Let every camera out there see exactly how you force your husband aside for your lover."

Through the glass doors at the courthouse entrance, I could still see dozens of reporters crowded outside, their cameras trained on us.

Jesse stopped in her tracks.

Dominic's furious voice thundered through the phone. "Put that brat on the phone!"

Before I could respond, Gideon's sobbing voice drifted in from outside. "Jesse! You don't have to worry about me anymore!"

A commotion immediately broke out among the crowd, followed by shouts that Gideon had moved closer to the edge.

Whatever hesitation Jesse had vanished.

She snatched the phone from my hand, ended the call, and slammed it onto the counter. Then, almost as quickly as her panic had appeared, it vanished.

When she turned to me again, there was an unsettling calmness in her eyes. "You've gotten pretty good at making scenes, Anthony. You should know by now that I'm even better at getting you to give in."

She stepped closer and leaned toward my ear, lowering her voice so only I could hear. "Think about our three children. If you refuse to sign, they're out of the Knapp family tomorrow."

I stared at her in disbelief. "Jesse, they're your children."

"Who cares?"

There wasn't a trace of warmth in her eyes.

"The Knapps aren't short on heirs. If I want more children, I can have them, and they can inherit everything just as easily. Are you really willing to gamble our kids' future on whether I mean it?"

Of course, I wasn't willing to take that risk.

For ten years, I had endured Jesse's forty-nine affairs and swallowed every humiliation that came with them. I hadn't put up with all of it just to see her die. I had done it so our three children would one day inherit everything she left behind.

For my children's sake, I had no choice but to force the words out. "I consent to the divorce."

The clerk studied me for several seconds before finally sitting back down and sliding the paperwork toward me.

My hand trembled as I signed the last page, not from heartbreak, but from pure anger.

I had been only five days away from winning, and now, Jesse had torn the finish line out from under me.

As soon as everything was finalized, she grabbed her copy of the paperwork and hurried outside.

By then, Gideon had already come down from the roof. He stood behind the police barricade, wrapped in Jesse's coat. His face was pale from the cold, yet a gleam in his eyes had nothing to do with relief.

Jesse ran straight to him and threw her arms around him. "Gideon, I'm free."

She held him for a moment before cupping his face in both hands and kissing him deeply, right there in front of me, the reporters, and every camera outside the courthouse.

It was a long, passionate kiss, as though the husband she had divorced only minutes ago no longer existed.

The reporters immediately closed in around me.

"Mr. Holmes, how are you feeling right now?"

"Will you be seeking full custody of your children?"

"Have you and Ms. Knapp reached a settlement on the marital assets?"

I answered none of them.

Instead, I watched Jesse take Gideon by the hand and lead him back inside. This time, they headed straight for the marriage-license office.

They sat shoulder to shoulder as they filled out the forms, signed their names, and posed for the official photos. When the camera flashed, Gideon smiled as though he had just won the lottery.

He barely waited until they were done before pulling out his phone and posting the photo on X with the caption, "Here's to forever, @JesseKnapp."

Within a minute, the post had already racked up more than 10,000 comments.

...

By the time I returned to the Knapp Residence, Dominic and Haleigh already knew everything. They were waiting for me in the living room.

The moment I walked in, Dominic hurled a cup against the wall. "Gosh, what the hell is wrong with her?"

Haleigh sat on the couch with one hand pressed to her chest, her face drained of color. "Anthony, don't worry. I will never accept that boy as part of this family. The second his grandpa is gone, Jesse will divorce him and marry you again."

I lowered my gaze and said nothing.

They could afford to wait, but I couldn't. I only had five days left.

Later, another idea came to me.

I pulled out my phone and called Reverie Technologies.

Reverie Technologies specialized in legally extracting and preserving memory fragments from terminal patients. The technology was originally developed for neurological research, but over time, it also found use in criminal investigations, disputed wills, and inheritance cases.

It was exactly what I needed.

Jesse had changed the rules, so I would have to change my approach too.