Chapter 2: What He Found When He Came Back
Phoebe didn't sleep.
Neither did I.
By 3 a.m., the three things were done.
I held my daughter against my chest and watched the city lights below.
She made the smallest sound — not a cry, just a breath.
Like she already knew to be quiet around dangerous people.
Flynn arrived the next morning carrying a bag of supplements and wearing the expression of a man who believed he had already won.
He pushed open the door.
And stopped.
Phoebe was seated in the chair beside my bed, a leather folder open across her knee.
Two men in suits stood near the window.
One was a notary.
The other was a process server.
"Good morning, Flynn," I said.
He looked at Phoebe.
Then at the men.
Then back at me.
"What is this?"
"This," Phoebe said pleasantly, "is a filing notice.
As of 7 this morning, Mabel has exercised her authority as sole trustee of the Vance Family Trust.
All asset transfers have been frozen.
All signatory rights belonging to Flynn Vance have been suspended pending divorce proceedings."
The supplements dropped from his hand.
"You can't—" he started.
"She already did," Phoebe said.
"Last night."
Flynn's face went a color I had never seen before.
He turned to me, and for the first time in four years, his voice cracked.
"Mabel.
Think about what you're doing."
I looked down at our daughter.
Then back at him.
"I already did.
Last night."
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But what Flynn didn't know yet — what even Phoebe hadn't told him — was the fourth thing I had done.
The one that would change everything.
