Chapter 5 - The Document
I walked over to my briefcase, sitting on the console table, and pulled out a thick manila folder. I tossed it onto the dining table. It landed right in his plate of roast beef.
"Open it," I said.
Landon ripped the folder open, grease smearing the crisp white paper. As he read, his eyes widened so far I thought they might pop out of his skull.
"Seven years ago," I explained calmly, "you wanted $50,000 of my inheritance to start a 'revolutionary app' that never existed. We got into a massive fight. To prove how 'committed' you were, you dramatically threw a post-nuptial agreement at me, signed and notarized."
"That... that wasn't real," he whispered, his hands shaking.
"Oh, it was very real. You signed away your rights to the apartment. You waived all rights to alimony. And, most importantly, there was an infidelity clause. If either party was proven unfaithful, they would walk away with absolutely nothing. Zero. You told me to submit it whenever I wanted because you 'didn't need me.'"
I leaned over the table, looking directly into his terrified eyes. "I submitted it three days ago, along with the irrefutable proof of your affair. The judge expedited the order this morning."
"No," Landon gasped, breathless. "No, you can't do this."
"It's already done."
Right on cue, a heavy knock echoed at the front door.
I walked over and opened it. Two uniformed NYPD officers stood in the hallway, accompanied by the building’s property manager.
"Karen Holloway?" the first officer asked.
"Just Karen now," I smiled. "Come on in, officers. I have a trespasser who needs to be escorted off my property."
Landon’s screaming was deafening. He thrashed, he cried, he begged. He tried to grab Belle, but she had already grabbed her coat—leaving the Chanel bag on the floor—and sprinted past the cops, disappearing down the hallway.
The officers grabbed Landon by the arms of his expensive suit.
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"Karen! Karen, please! I have nowhere to go! I have no money!" he sobbed as they dragged him toward the door.
"You have your network, Landon," I said, closing the door in his face. "Maintain it."
