Chapter 3
Zane's face was as pale as a ghost.
Georgia's sobs stopped suddenly. She froze in Zane's arms, not daring to look at me.
James's expression grew increasingly grim, his brows drawn tightly together. And Olivia, meanwhile, had shifted from anger to stunned disbelief.
Then I revealed the final piece of evidence, the biggest one.
It was a screenshot of a bank transfer receipt. The money came from the joint account Zane and I held, and went straight into Georgia's personal account.
The transfer amount was 150 thousand, and it happened a month ago.
When James saw the number on the receipt, he froze, then shouted, "Isn't this the money we set aside for investments?"
His words set off an explosion in the room.
Olivia went limp, slumping onto the couch, muttering under her breath, "150 thousand. All gone."
Georgia couldn't keep up the act anymore. She pulled herself out of Zane's arms, her face pale, and stammered, "No, it's not what you think. Zane gave it to me as a loan. I swear I'll pay it back."
"A loan?" I sneered. It was probably the first real laugh I'd had all day. "Taking 150 thousand from our joint assets, without my consent, and lending it to his mistress?
"Georgia, do you think we're idiots?"
I didn't bother looking at any of them. I pulled a few documents out of the bag next to me and tossed them onto the coffee table. "I want a divorce."
My voice was quiet, but it struck hard, sealing the end of this farce.
I said, "The property division plan is all laid out. That includes the 150 thousand. It was illegally taken from our shared assets and has to be paid back in full. Zane, you're walking away with nothing."
As soon as I finished speaking, the whole living room went silent.
The first one to snap out of the silence was Olivia. The loss of 150 thousand shocked her more than the cheating did.
She sprang up from the couch like an enraged lioness and rushed straight at Georgia instead of me. "Give my money back, bitch."
She grabbed Georgia's hair and started pulling hard.
Georgia screamed, trying to escape, and chaos erupted in the living room.
Seeing this, Zane rushed forward, pulling his mother away and shielding Georgia behind him. "Mom, what are you doing? Can't we talk this out?"
That instinctive move was enough to break the last of Olivia's patience.
"Are you protecting her? Zane, are you choosing this woman over your own mother?" she wailed as she beat her fists against Zane.
James remained somewhat calmer. He pulled Zane, who was still defending Georgia, off to the side, lowering his voice, his face filled with urgency and calculation.
He said, "Have you lost your mind? It's not the time for your ridiculous affair. What about the 150 thousand? And the divorce—"
Their whispers reached me, and it made me feel sick.
Amid all the chaos, Georgia, her hair messy from Olivia's assault, lifted her head, glaring at me like she wanted to tear me apart.
The fragile innocence she once pretended to have was gone, replaced by pure hatred and resentment. She acted like I was the one who had destroyed her life.
I had no interest in watching them tear each other apart anymore.
Just then, my phone buzzed softly.
It was a new message from an unknown number: [Mrs. Baldwin, this is Anthony Spencer. I'm at the café downstairs.]
Anthony was the top lawyer I had picked online.
In that moment, my mind was made up, and the chaos in front of me no longer mattered.
I stood up and grabbed my bag. I said, keeping my voice steady, "My lawyer is already here. He'll handle the divorce and property stuff for me. From now on, he'll deal with you directly."
With that, I turned and left without looking back at those disgusting people.
"Rosalyn, stop." Zane stepped forward, trying to stop me.
"Let her go," James snapped, cutting him off. "You've got bigger problems right now."
I walked straight into the elevator without looking back. The doors slid shut, sealing off all the chaos behind me.
My phone buzzed again while I was going downstairs.
It was a message from Georgia.
Georgia: [Do you think you've won, Rosalyn? Let me tell you, I've got something that'll bring your whole family down.]
The threat and craziness in her words were obvious.
I glanced at the message, sneering.
I knew she was only bluffing.
Without hesitation, I blocked her number.
The elevator reached the first floor. Sunlight streamed in, warm and inviting.
I took a deep breath and stepped out.
This fight had only just begun.
*****
Downstairs in the café, the lighting was gentle, and the air was filled with the rich scent of coffee. A man sat by the window.
He wore a well-tailored dark suit and glasses, his attention focused on the laptop in front of him.
Even from the side, his calm and professional aura was unmistakable.
As if he felt me looking, he looked up.
When he saw me, he stood up and gave a polite nod. "Hello, Mrs. Baldwin. I'm Anthony."
His voice was calm, the same reassuring tone I'd heard over the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Spencer," I said, sitting down across from him.
Without any small talk, I slid the file folder I'd brought with me across the table to him.
Inside were all the materials I'd compiled, including chat logs, bank transfer records, various photos, and the hotel photo Cassie sent me, the one taken from behind.
Anthony didn't start going through the files right away. Instead, he asked the waiter to bring me some water. "Take your time. Tell me what happened."
That small gesture helped me relax a bit.
I gave Anthony a concise summary of everything that had happened.
He listened with full attention, occasionally raising an insightful question whenever I paused, each one precise and sharply to the point.
Once I finished, he finally opened the file folder and started going through the evidence with meticulous care.
He paused for a moment when he saw the bank transfer slip for 150 thousand.
"The timing on this transfer is interesting," he said, tapping the date on the slip with his finger. "It was exactly three days after Zane's major project received its first payment."
That caught my attention. I hadn't noticed that detail before.
"What do you mean?" I asked.