Chapter 4: The Shark
The next morning, Laura sat in a glass-walled conference room in downtown Washington D.C. The office belonged to Sarah Jenkins, a senior partner at one of the most ruthless family law firms in the district. Sarah had taken the case pro-bono after a colleague at the domestic violence clinic witnessed yesterday’s courtroom spectacle.
Sarah was a tall, striking woman in her fifties, with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor. She finished looking through the printouts of the ledger Laura had brought her and let out a low whistle.
"Well," Sarah said, dropping the papers onto the glass table. "I’ve seen husbands hide money in crypto, in their mother's bank accounts, and in literal shoeboxes. But I rarely see them document federal wire fraud in a physical notebook."
"Can we use it in the divorce?" Laura asked, gripping her coffee cup.
"Use it?" Sarah laughed sharply. "Laura, this isn't just leverage for a divorce. This is leverage for his absolute destruction. If we hand this over to the IRS or the FBI, Julian is looking at ten to fifteen years in federal prison. Which means, when it comes to the divorce settlement, Julian Hayes will give you whatever you want to keep this quiet."
"I don't want his dirty money," Laura said firmly. "I want sole custody of Maya. I want the house. I want him legally barred from ever trying to take my daughter away from me."
"You'll get all of that," Sarah promised, leaning forward. "But you're also going to take his clean money. You deserve half of everything built during this marriage. And I’ll make sure he pays for every tear you shed."
Sarah’s desk phone rang. She put it on speaker. "Jenkins."
"Sarah, it's the front desk," the receptionist's voice echoed. "There's a Julian Hayes here. He says he needs to speak to his wife immediately. He’s making quite a scene."
Laura’s blood ran cold. How did he know I was here?
"He put a tracker on your car," Sarah said casually, seeing Laura's panicked expression. "Typical narcissist playbook. We'll have a mechanic sweep your SUV this afternoon." She leaned closer to the speakerphone. "Tell Mr. Hayes that Mrs. Hayes is represented by counsel. If he does not leave the premises in thirty seconds, call building security and the police. Remind him he has a restraining order."
"Will do, Ms. Jenkins."
Sarah disconnected the call and smiled at Laura. "He’s panicking. The deadline for him to return your money is tomorrow at 5:00 PM. He knows if he doesn't, Judge Thorne will throw him in a holding cell for the weekend."
"He doesn't have the money," Laura said, tapping the ledger. "He told the judge he invested it. But look at page forty-two. He didn't invest it. He wired it to an offshore account in Chloe Mercer’s name to hide it from the court."
Sarah’s eyes widened as she flipped to the page. "My god. He used his mistress to hide marital assets?"
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"Yes," Laura said, leaning back in her leather chair. "And Chloe texted me last night. She's terrified."
Sarah grinned, a predatory gleam in her eye. "Laura, I want you to reply to Chloe. Tell her to meet us for coffee. It’s time we offer the mistress a deal she can't refuse."
