Chapter 9: The Divorce Filing
Elena Vargas’s office was on the fourteenth floor of a downtown building. Maya sat across from her two days after being discharged from the hospital, still moving carefully because of the incision.
Elena read through the documents Maya and Rachel had compiled without speaking for several minutes. When she finally looked up, her expression was serious.
“This is strong,” she said. “Very strong. With the transfer records, the voice recording, and the pattern of financial misconduct, we have grounds for an emergency motion to freeze the marital assets. We can also request supervised visitation only once the baby is released, given the circumstances.”
Maya nodded. “I want full custody. I don’t want Eric or Diane anywhere near Lily without supervision.”
Elena studied her for a moment. “You understand this is going to get ugly, right? They will fight back. Hard.”
“I’m counting on it,” Maya said.
They spent the next three hours going over everything. By the end of the meeting, Elena had filed the divorce petition and the emergency motions electronically. Maya signed her name on the tablet without hesitation.
When she left the office, her phone rang almost immediately.
It was Eric.
She let it go to voicemail.
Ten minutes later, Diane called.
Maya blocked both numbers.
She sat in her car in the parking garage for a long time, hands resting on the steering wheel. Her body still hurt, and she was exhausted, but for the first time since the baby shower, she felt something close to control.
May you like
She had started the process.
Now she just had to survive what came next.
