Chapter 4: Divorce 1

They made me stand.

The bank had given us a conference room on the top floor.

Victoria took the best chair, because of course she did. Henry took the one beside her, with Fiona perched at his elbow.

I was left standing by the wall, hands folded, like a maid waiting to be dismissed.

“Well?” Victoria snapped at me, glancing at her watch. “Don’t just stand there. Go and see what’s keeping the manager.”

“Mom, Let her be. She’s nervous.” He turned to me with a soft, indulgent smile.

“Aren’t you, sweetheart? Don’t worry. It’ll all be over in a few minutes.”

“Yes, Henry. It will,” I said meekly.

The door opened. The bank manager walked in. He glanced at me for a second, and I gave him the smallest nod.

“Thank you all for waiting.”

he said as he settled behind the desk.

“Let’s make this quick,” Henry said, leaning back.

“We’re here to finalize the loan against the estate. The one million, as discussed. My wife has agreed to sign.”

The manager folded his hands. “Mr. Zade. I’m afraid I have to stop you there.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, but the property is gone.”

Silence.

Henry blinked twice. “I’m sorry, what?”

“The estate. It has already been sold.”

“That’s impossible.” Victoria sat up so fast her pearls swung. “That estate belongs to my daughter-in-law. She can’t have sold it. She wouldn’t even know how to.”

I said nothing. I kept my eyes lowered and my face blank, the way I had learned to over the years.

“The sale has been finalized. The amount paid was forty million dollars.”

For a moment, it was so silent I could hear the hum of the air conditioning.

“Forty…” Victoria’s voice cracked. “…million?”

“Forty million,” the manager confirmed.

Fiona’s lips parted. Victoria’s face went pale. And Henry, my handsome, polished husband, sat frozen in his chair with his mouth slightly open.

Henry’s head turned very slowly toward me.

“Kira,”

I looked up, wide-eyed, as innocent as I can be. “Yes, Henry?”

“You SOLD it?” He surged to his feet, and his chair crashed backward against the wall. I didn’t flinch this time.

“Forty million dollars, and you sold it behind my back? Without a word? You betrayed me!”

“Henry, I—”

“I’m your husband!” he roared. “Everything you have is mine! Do you understand? You have been a leech on my family for years, and the moment you have a chance, you steal from me!”

A leech? I almost laughed. Still I kept the worried look on my face and let him throw his tantrum.

Then I watched something shift behind his eyes. Like a calculation.

Henry’s breathing slowed. Then his lips curled.

“Wait... The agreement.”

Bingo. There it is.

“Clause nine.” He laughed.

“I get eighty percent of any proceeds from the estate. Thirty two million of that money is mine. You fucking idiot.” He leaned towards me.

“You didn’t steal from me, Kira. You just did all the hard work for me. I want a divorce. Right now.”

“Oh, Henry. My son!”

Victoria exclaimed, her eyes shining bright.

She glanced at me.

“Go on. Beg. Get on your knees and beg, you ungrateful girl. If you grovel hard enough, perhaps my son might take pity on you and let you keep your share.” She snapped at me.

“What would she even do with all that money? She betrayed Henry. This snitch deserves nothing. I say kick her to the streets.” Fiona chipped in.

I looked at her. And then to Henry and Victoria, and I smiled.

“You’re forgetting something, Henry. You only get the money if there’s no proof of you cheating.”

The smirk froze on Henry’s face.

“What did you just say?”

“Clause nine, the one you’re so fond of. It only applies if the divorce is clean. If I can prove your infidelity, you get nothing.”

Henry stared at me. And then his face twisted.

“Cheating?” he hissed. “You’re accusing me of cheating? After everything I’ve done for you? You are sick. You are sick in the head. You’re still on about that nonsense from yesterday?”

“It’s not an accusation, Henry. It’s a fact.”

“That is bullshit. My son would never!” Victoria kissed her teeth.

“Oh really?” I smiled again.

I reached into my bag and brought out two sheets of paper.

I laid them on the table and slid them toward Henry.

Henry glanced at the paper, his expression hardening.

“What is this?”

“Read them.”

He snatched a report off the table.

Paternity: Henry and Tommy Zade. Probability of relationship: 99.99%.

Victoria leaned over his shoulder, reading the result for herself.

“Stupid girl. This proves nothing!” she laughed, pushing the paper away. “Of course he’s Tommy’s father. This doesn’t show he cheated, you dimwit!”

I smiled.

“Read the other report.”

Fiona rolled her eyes amidst chuckles and read the paper. But when her laugher died slowly, Henry grabbed the paper from her.

Maternity: Fiona and Tommy Zade. Probability of relationship: 99.99%.

Henry stared at the page.

His lips parted, but no sound came out. Fiona exchanged a glance with him.

They weren’t laughing now.

I took a seat and leaned back in my chair.

“Henry is Tommy’s biological father. Fiona is his biological mother. And I’ve spent eight years raising a child you both deceived me about.”

“That’s a lie!” Fiona suddenly shrieked, pushing the report away. “I’m his aunt! I was just a surrogate!”

“Really?” I tilted my head. “Then explain the DNA results.”

Her hands began to shake.

“You’re insane, Kira! You’ve fabricated all of this!”

“No, Fiona. I simply stopped believing your lies. You’re not his sister. You are his lover.”

I looked from her to Henry, watching their carefully constructed excuses crumble.

“And now that I know the truth, there’s nothing left for either of you to hide.”

Even then, my heart still sank a bit. But I breathed through the pain. They did not deserve my tears.

“Oh, and this too.”

I reached into my phone and played the sex tape!

“Kira…” Henry mumbled as he saw the terror on the screen. Victoria crashed into a chair. Fiona’s palm flung across her lips.

“You want a divorce so badly, Henry? Then you’ll get one.”

“You bitch! You planned this all along? To humiliate me like this? We could have discussed this in private.” I watched Henry’s composure crack fast.

And then he lunged at me.

But before he could grab me, the door suddenly opened.