CHAPTER FOUR:THE LEGAL REALITY

DOMINIC

I stood in front of my bedroom mirror that morning, adjusting the cuff of my shirt while my mind wandered to Lila. We were having our first proper session that morning, and for some reason, I had been thinking about it since I woke up. It shouldn't have mattered to me. I had handled hundreds of divorce cases, many of them far more complicated than hers, but knowing I would be seeing Lila again had been sitting at the back of my mind all morning.

I glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 7:12 a.m. Usually, my secretary was the one who reminded me about my appointments, but I didn't need the reminder today. I knew exactly who I was seeing and what time she was expected.

I smiled to myself as I fastened my watch. A grown-ass man having a crush. That was what this was beginning to feel like, and I wasn't sure whether to laugh at myself or be annoyed. The truth was, I'd always had a little crush on Lila. It had never been anything serious. I'd noticed her at events, admired her from a distance and occasionally wondered what she was like when she wasn't standing beside Marcus Harper looking like the perfect wife. But now she was my client, and that changed everything.

Whatever I felt, I needed to keep it under control.

By the time I got to the office, it was already 7:50. Traffic had been terrible, and I was ten minutes later than I liked to be. The moment I stepped through the reception area, I saw her.

She was already waiting.

I slowed for half a second because she looked different from the woman who had sat across from me the previous day. She looked more put together, more composed, although I could still see the tiredness in her eyes.

"Good morning, Lila."

"Good morning."

"I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible."

She smiled politely. "It's fine."

I gestured toward my office, and she followed me inside. Once the door closed behind us, I walked toward my desk while she took the chair opposite me. I opened her file and forced myself to focus entirely on the case.

"We have a lot to go through today," I said. "I want to understand the marriage itself before we start making decisions about the divorce."

She nodded.

"When did you and Marcus get married?"

"Ten years ago."

"And how was the marriage in the beginning?"

She thought about it for a moment before answering. "Good. Very good, actually. We loved each other. At least, I thought we did. Marcus was very affectionate. He took care of me. He made me feel safe."

"And when did things begin to change?"

"About two years into the marriage."

"The silence?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

I picked up my pen. "Tell me about it again, but this time I want details. How long would it last, and what exactly would he do?"

Lila took a breath before answering. "He would stop talking to me completely. Sometimes he wouldn't even look at me. If I asked him what was wrong, he'd walk away. If I tried to follow him, he'd leave the room."

"Would he sleep in the same room?"

"No."

"Would he eat with you?"

"Sometimes, but he wouldn't speak to me."

"Would he communicate with you through messages?"

"Only if he absolutely needed to tell me something."

I wrote that down before looking back at her. "How long was the longest period?"

She looked down at her hands. "Three months."

I paused before asking my next question.

"And during those periods, did you ever feel afraid of him?"

She hesitated.

"Not at first."

That answer caught my attention.

"Not at first?"

Lila swallowed. "There were a few times..."

She stopped, and I waited.

"What happened?"

Her fingers tightened around each other. "When I tried to force him to talk to me, he would get angry."

"How angry?"

She looked up at me. "Sometimes he'd grab me."

I put my pen down.

"Grab you how?"

"Hard."

Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant.

"Hard enough to leave bruises."

I studied her face for a moment before asking, "Where?"

"My arms mostly. Once my wrist."

"Did he ever hit you?"

"No."

"Kick you?"

"No."

"Push you?"

She hesitated. "Once."

I leaned back in my chair, processing what she had just told me. She had spent the previous day trying to convince herself that what Marcus did wasn't serious because she had no bruises to prove it. Now she was telling me that there had been times when he had physically hurt her when she tried to break through his silence.

"Did you seek medical attention?"

She shook her head.

"Did anyone see the bruises?"

"No."

"Did you photograph them?"

"I think I did once."

"Find it if you can. Not because you have to prove what happened to me, but because documentation matters."

She nodded.

I continued, "I need you to understand something, Lila. Divorce proceedings are not simply about proving that your husband was a bad person. We need facts. Dates, financial records, property documents, communication and anything else that can establish a pattern."

She nodded slowly.

"Do you have access to your joint bank statements?"

"Yes."

"Bring every statement you can find."

"I will."

"What about the property document you signed?"

"I'll look for it."

"Do that too. And don't confront Marcus about it before we have a chance to examine it."

She nodded.

"Has Marcus ever threatened you?"

"No."

"Threatened to take your money?"

"Not directly."

"Has he ever threatened to leave you?"

"During the silence periods, he wouldn't say anything. But sometimes I felt like that was what he wanted."

I watched her carefully.

"Has he ever prevented you from leaving the house?"

"No."

"Prevented you from seeing friends or family?"

"No."

"Did he ever control where you went?"

"Not exactly."

"But?"

She hesitated before answering. "He didn't like me working."

"Did he ask you to quit?"

"He told me I didn't need to work anymore."

"Why?"

"He said he could provide everything I needed."

"And you agreed?"

"Yes."

"Did you have your own income after that?"

She shook her head.

"Any account in your name that Marcus couldn't access?"

"I had some savings before our marriage."

"What happened to them?"

"I put them into our joint account."

I nodded.

That confirmed something I'd already suspected. Financial dependence wasn't always created through force. Sometimes it was created through trust, and trust could be just as effective.

"Do you know what assets are in your name?"

She looked embarrassed. "Not really."

"What about properties?"

"Most of them are in Marcus's name."

"Cars?"

"Some are in his name. I don't know about all of them."

"Businesses?"

"Marcus owns several companies."

"Do you have access to any of their financial records?"

"No."

I wrote that down before looking at her again.

"Lila, I need you to understand that this process may become complicated. Your husband has substantial financial resources, and if he has been moving money without your knowledge, we need to investigate where it went."

She nodded.

"Can he hide everything?"

"No."

Her eyes lifted to mine.

"No?"

"No. Not if we move carefully."

Something changed in her expression. For the first time since she'd walked into my office, she looked like she believed she had a chance.

I wanted to reassure her further, but I stopped myself. My job was to give her facts, not promises.

"We're going to start by gathering everything you have access to. Bank statements, property documents, tax records, investment information, insurance documents, anything connected to your finances."

"Okay."

"And one more thing."

"What?"

"Don't tell Marcus everything we're doing."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because we don't know what he's planning. Until I understand his financial position and what he's already moved, you need to be careful."

She nodded. "I understand."

I closed the file.

"For now, that's enough."

She stood and adjusted her blazer.

"Thank you, Dominic."

I looked up at her, and there it was again, that strange pull I had been trying to ignore since yesterday. It was quiet, unwelcome and completely inappropriate, but I couldn't deny that it was there.

"You're welcome."

She walked toward the door, but just before she opened it, she turned around.

"Dominic?"

"Yes?"

"Do you really think I can get through this?"

I held her gaze.

"Yes."

It was the easiest answer I'd given her all morning.

She smiled faintly and left.

I remained seated for several seconds after the door closed, staring at the space where she'd been standing. I'd handled difficult divorces before. I'd dealt with angry husbands, frightened wives, hidden assets and secrets that could destroy entire families, but something about Lila Harper felt different.

Maybe it was the way she still defended a man who had hurt her. Maybe it was the fact that she had no idea how much of her life Marcus had already taken from her. Or maybe it was the way I couldn't seem to stop thinking about her.

I picked up her file again and stared at Marcus Harper's name.

Something told me this divorce wasn't going to be as simple as Lila thought.

And if my instincts were right, the money was only the beginning.