Chapter 3
Anna texted me on WhatsApp. [Found her. Sophia Reed, born in 1999, only child. Her parents run a business in another city.
[She started at Justin's company two years ago as his assistant, and she pulls in 2,500 dollars a month.]
I asked: [Any idea where she has been lately?]
[She has blocked most people from seeing her Instagram, but I've got my ways.]
Anna sent over a few screenshots.
Sophia's Instagram post from three hours ago showed a Borenian beach at sunset, captioned: [The best view is having you by my side.]
In the photo, she was wearing a long dress, and her necklace caught the sunlight, glittering in the evening glow.
A handful of friends liked the post.
Someone commented: [Are you there with your boyfriend?]
Sophia replied: [Yeah, he's really good to me.]
I laughed at the fact that she said Justin was her boyfriend. [Anna, can you help me find a lawyer?]
Anna: [A divorce lawyer?]
[Yeah, someone professional, who's handled a lot of divorce cases.]
[Okay, I'll get you one tomorrow.]
[And can you help me find a private investigator?]
[You want—]
[I need hard evidence, something that'll hold up in court.]
Anna went quiet for a moment and then texted: [Money is no object?]
[Yeah, I've got 65,000 dollars. I'll use every last cent if I have to.]
[Alright, leave it to me.]
I set my phone down and stared out at the night sky.
Justin thought I'd cry, make a scene, or come at him like some resentful, hysterical wife.
But I wouldn't.
I'd calmly gather every piece of evidence, and in court, I'd strip him bare for all he'd done.
Every dollar he spent on Sophia, I'd make him cough it up, plus interest.
*****
On the third day, Anna took me to meet a lawyer.
Charlie Thompson was in his forties, had handled over a hundred divorce cases, and had a 92% win rate.
"Ms. Lane, I've got a general idea of your situation." Charlie was flipping through the documents I had brought. "What are your demands?"
"First, I want a divorce. Second, I want custody of my child. Third, I want a fair split of the assets, and I want to take back everything that's mine," I replied.
"How much are we talking about in assets?"
"Our marital assets include a house worth 900 thousand dollars, with a mortgage of 200 thousand dollars, so the net value is 700 thousand dollars.
"Savings: 150,000 dollars in his account, 65,000 dollars in mine. Stocks and funds, about 100,000 dollars. Total, around 1 million dollars."
Charlie nodded. "If you can prove he cheated and used marital assets to buy expensive gifts for his mistress, you can ask for a bigger share."
"How much could I get?"
"Normally, it's a 50-50 split, but with solid evidence, you could get 60-70%, which would be 600 thousand to 700 thousand dollars."
"I want 70%."
"Then you'll need enough evidence." Charlie fixed his gaze on me. "What have you got right now?"
I scrolled through my phone and handed it over for him to see. "Matching his-and-hers outfits, credit card statements, hotel bookings, photos I found on his phone, and the mistress's Instagram posts."
Charlie looked through each one. "This is a good start, but it's not enough."
"Not enough?"
"In court, he could say the photos are fake, the credit card charges were for work, and those Instagram posts are a coincidence. You need more direct evidence."
"Like what?"
"Like a video of them together in an intimate situation, a recording where he admits to cheating, or a witness who can testify."
"A witness?"
"Like someone from the HR Department at his company who could testify that this wasn't a team-building trip at all. It was him taking personal leave."
My eyes lit up. "Yeah, I can reach out to HR."
"And if you can get a private investigator to catch them on video being intimate, that's solid proof."
"I've reached out to one."