Chapter 6: Distance
By the end of the first week the perimeter was stable.
The divorce proceeded on the documented timeline. The protective order remained in effect against both Dominic and Victoria. Any attempt at direct contact was logged and ignored. The corporate freezes held while the majority position was formalized through the proper channels. Sophia handled the noise; I handled the silence.
I relocated under arrangements made years earlier for exactly this contingency—an address that had never appeared on a joint tax form or a family emergency list. The $80 million trust continued its ordinary administration. The portion of the construction company I controlled would be decided later, without urgency and without consultation. There was no requirement to destroy the business outright. There was only the requirement that the people who had treated me as disposable no longer treated my capital as theirs.
Dominic left one final message that Sophia screened and archived. It contained the expected mixture of accusation, disbelief, and a late attempt at negotiation. I did not reply. The text I had already sent—Enjoy the family you chose—remained the last communication he would receive from me.
Victoria’s empire of appearances had depended on my continued willingness to stay small and silent.
May you like
That willingness had ended on the marble staircase.
Everything after it was simply the enforcement of documents she had never bothered to read.
