THE BARREN EX-WIFE WHO CAME BACK
We reached the top of the steps, and Richard pulled open the heavy courthouse door.
That's when I heard it.
The sharp, distinctive click of high heels on pavement. It was coming from behind us.
Richard heard it too. He paused, his hand still on the door, and turned to look back down the steps.
His face went white.
"What—" he started.
I turned around.
And froze.
Vanessa was walking toward us.
She wasn't even moving carefully like someone who should still be in a hospital bed. Vanessa was walking toward us with her head high and her spine straight, each step slow and powerful, like she was entering a battlefield she knew she'd already won.