Chapter 3 - THE ATTORNEY AT MIDNIGHT
The next morning, I did not confront Caden.
That surprised even me.
The woman who had found her sick mother sweating over a stove was finished volunteering information.
I called my attorney instead.
Priya Shah had handled my company’s contracts for eight years. She was sharp, patient, and allergic to panic.
“LLC purchased before I refinanced the marital home. Separate funds. No joint account touched it.”
“Good. What about the house across the street?”
“My company owns the smart utility system. The deed is in my name, but we bought it after marriage.”
“That one is messier. Turning off services could become an issue if you leave it that way.”
“I already scheduled utilities to restore at noon.”
“Excellent. Angry is fine. Reckless is expensive.”
At 9:30, Caden knocked on the mansion door.
Alone.
I met him in the courtyard.
He looked exhausted, which might have moved me twelve hours earlier.
“Taylor, Mom was rude. I admit that.”
“Rude?”
“I should’ve helped your mom.”
“You should have stopped her from being treated like unpaid staff in a house I finance.”
His jaw tightened. “There it is. Money.”
“No. Character.”
He paced. “Marcus came over because you abandoned the house with our son.”
“I walked across the street with Donovan.”
“You removed him from his home without discussing it.”
“His home currently has a grandmother who thinks sick people should cook for her.”
Caden sighed. “Can we not do this?”
Then he said the sentence that made every hair on my arms rise.
“We should figure out a temporary parenting schedule.”
I stared at him.
We had not discussed separation.
We had not discussed divorce.
Yet my husband had already learned the phrase temporary parenting schedule.
“Marcus gave you that wording?” I asked.
Caden’s eyes shifted.
There it was.
Not guilt.
Preparation.
He left twenty minutes later without seeing Donovan.
At noon, Priya called again.
“I pulled the public filings connected to Marcus.”
“And?”
“He formed a company six weeks ago.”
“So?”
“The registered mailing address is your husband’s office.”
I sat very still.
May you like
Priya continued.
“And Taylor? Your mother-in-law is listed as the company manager.”
