Chapter 10 - Unforgettable
Six months later.
The spring sun shone warm and bright over the downtown city park. Flowers were blooming along the stone walking paths, and the smell of fresh green grass filled the air.
I sat on a wooden bench under a large oak tree, wearing a sleeveless yellow summer dress. My right arm was completely free of the fiberglass cast. A thin, faint pink scar ran along the inside of my forearm where the surgeon had inserted the titanium pins—a permanent mark, but no longer a source of pain.
Beside me sat my lead divorce attorney, along with my forensic accountant.
"The final decree was signed by the judge this morning, Monica," my attorney announced, handing me a thick blue folder. "Because of the criminal convictions and the prenuptial invalidation, the court awarded you the full liquidation proceeds of the Highland Drive estate, along with forty percent of Derek’s seized personal liquid assets as spousal restitution."
"What about Derek?" I asked calmly, watching a group of children playing near the park fountain.
"He accepted a federal plea deal yesterday," my accountant chimed in. "Twelve years at a federal correctional institution in Pennsylvania for wire fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion, followed by three years of state probation for felony assault. His law license has been permanently revoked by the State Bar."
I closed the blue folder, feeling a deep, profound sense of peace settle over my chest.
"And Julianna?"
"Michael Stanton filed for divorce two weeks ago," my attorney smiled slightly. "She left the state with virtually nothing under their premarital agreement."
I looked down at my right hand, flexing my fingers in the warm afternoon sunlight. The strength had returned to my arm completely through months of physical therapy. I was no longer the quiet, frightened woman who walked on eggshells in a four-thousand-square-foot prison.
I had purchased a small, beautiful sunlit cottage near the coast, where I was preparing to open my own independent catering and culinary consulting business—a dream I had put on hold the day I married Derek.
My phone buzzed in my purse. It was a text message from Evelyn:
Thinking of you today, Monica! Hope you're celebrating your freedom.
I took a deep breath of the spring air, picked up my purse, and stood up from the park bench.
I looked up at the clear blue sky, smiling a real, genuine smile that reached all the way to my eyes.
May you like
Derek had wanted his fortieth birthday party to be unforgettable.
And in the end, I had delivered exactly what I promised.
