Chapter 4
Yolanda turned to me. "Leila, if you sign the divorce agreement, it'll be better for everyone."
I looked quietly at her, who was seven years younger than me.
"It must be tough raising a kid on your own," she said, tilting her head. "I really get it, but Zachary's already made his choice. There's no point in dragging this out."
I remained silent.
She sighed, "30 thousand is a decent amount. You could rent a small place, take your time finding a job, and you'll get by."
Zachary stepped out of the bedroom, two suits draped over his arm.
"Let's go," he said to Yolanda, not bothering to glance back.
As he passed by me, he paused for a moment.
"Leila, I'm saying this one last time. If you don't sign by the end of this week, I'm taking you to court.
"Do you think the court will side with you, a stay-at-home mom?
"How much can you make? 2 hundred bucks a month? How is that enough to care for Diana?" he scoffed.
After the door closed, I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the floor Yolanda had walked across.
Her stiletto heel left a small dent in the wooden floor.
I crouched down and traced the dent with my fingers.
Then I stood up, packed Diana's schoolbag, and double-checked the clothes she would wear tomorrow.
Life still went on.
But it wouldn't be on Zachary's terms.
*****
Yvonne reached out to me on Wednesday evening.
"I found it," she said, barely able to hide her excitement. "Three months ago, there was a change in the ownership of Zachary's building materials company. He moved forty percent of his shares over to his mom, Selena."
I fell silent.
"And two months ago, nearly 400 grand was moved from your joint investment account to a corporate account."
"What corporate account?"
"It's a new company Miranda registered. The capital's only about 30 thousand, and the address is literally her living room. Leila, Zachary's shifting everything out of your reach."
I leaned against the balcony railing, watching the streetlights in the neighborhood flicker on one by one.
Zachary signed the house over to Miranda for just 30 dollars, shifted his shares to Selena, and dumped our joint savings into a shell company.
He acted in a rush, and his moves were clumsy.
He seemed to be sure I wouldn't understand, that I'd never figure it out.
"Is this enough evidence?" I asked.
Yvonne smiled, "More than enough.
"He's hiding marital assets. If you take this to court, he could wind up with next to nothing or even none of what he tried to move.
"And with proof of the affair, you'll easily be seen as the injured spouse."
She paused. "But here's a tip."
"Yeah?"
"Hold off for now. He thinks you don't know anything and haven't made any moves. That's your advantage."
I remembered Zachary's laughter from the balcony that night while he was on the phone.
"Leila hasn't worked in six years. No way the court gives her much," he'd snorted.
He truly thought I was clueless.
Yvonne's voice came through the phone. "He thinks he's got everything locked down? Come on.
"Do you know what it's called when one spouse unilaterally transfers marital property?"
She didn't wait for me to answer. "It's basically digging his own grave."
*****
After Diana fell asleep, I fired up the old laptop sitting on the desk in the guest room.
Zachary thought I was binge-watching TV every night.
The screen lit up, but it didn't show a video streaming site.
Instead, there was an account for baby product reviews called "Diana's Mom Selects."
It had 260,000 followers online.
I started this account four years ago.
The first post was about picking Diana's baby bottle, and it only got three likes.
Now, each post got an average of 80,000 views.
Two years ago, I opened a small online store linked to my channel, selling the baby and mom products I reviewed and liked.
The first month, I barely made a thousand bucks.
Last month, I raked in nearly 30 grand.
Over four years, this account and store had made me 109 thousand.
I keep it all in my own bank account that Zachary didn't know about.
Besides that, my name was on three ongoing brand deals, each paying me 20 grand a year.
I wasn't that "can't even make two hundred bucks a month" woman he said I was.
I exported and backed up all my income statements, tax records, and brand contracts from the past four years, then sent them to Yvonne.
She sent me a voice message. "Leila, do you get what these mean?
"What judges care about most is whether you can take care of Diana.
"Zachary says you have no income, but you do. He says you can't support Diana, but you can.
"You've cut off every excuse he could use."
I shut down the laptop.
On the desk was today's new sample: a children's sunscreen.
Lately, Diana's cheeks had been turning red from all the outdoor activities at preschool.
I wrote a 2,000-word review, paired it with nine photos, and scheduled it to go live tomorrow.
This was my everyday life for the past four years.
During the day, I took care of Diana, cooked, and cleaned.
After nine at night, I'd sit at this desk and build my own world.
Zachary never bothered to ask what I was up to on the laptop every night.
He couldn't have cared less.
He figured a stay-at-home mom like me couldn't have any secrets.