Two days later, Mark sat on a worn vinyl chair inside a cramped, dimly lit legal aid office downtown.
Across the wooden desk sat a tired-looking lawyer flipping through a stack of court papers.
Lawyer: Mr. Davis, I've reviewed the documents your wife's legal team sent over.
Mark: Good! So when can we sue her for taking my car and locking me out of my home?
Lawyer: We can't sue her, Mr. Davis. In fact, you should be worried about staying out of jail.
Mark: Jail?! What are you talking about?! I'm the victim here!
Lawyer: Your wife's attorneys have filed a comprehensive divorce petition along with an emergency freeze on all joint assets. But that's not the main issue.
Mark: Then what is?!
Lawyer: They filed evidence showing you misused company funds from Montgomery Enterprises over the last three years. Over two hundred thousand dollars spent on personal expenses without board approval.
Mark felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach.
Mark: I was the Vice President! I had authority to spend that money!
Lawyer: You were an authorized user, not the owner. Mrs. Montgomery owns eighty-five percent of the company's voting shares. Her father owns the rest.
Mark: She gave me those cards! She let me use them!
Lawyer: And she revoked that permission the moment you publicly humiliated her and broke your fiduciary duty. The court has already granted her full temporary custody of your son.
Mark: Full custody?! She can't keep me away from my son!
Lawyer: Given your lack of employment, lack of permanent residence, and the pending corporate investigation, the judge agreed that staying with his mother is in the child's best interest.
Mark: You're supposed to be my lawyer! Help me fight this!
Lawyer: I am giving you realistic advice, Mr. Davis. If you fight this in court, her legal team will crush you. My best suggestion is to sign the settlement agreement.
Mark: What settlement agreement?
The lawyer slid a thin document across the desk toward him.
Lawyer: She agrees not to press criminal charges for corporate embezzlement, provided you relinquish all claims to the penthouse, the vehicles, and sign a full waiver of spousal support.
Mark: She wants me to sign away everything... and walk away with nothing?
Lawyer: You came into this marriage with nothing, Mr. Davis. She's simply letting you leave with your freedom.
Mark looked down at the crisp white paper, his hands trembling as he stared at his wife's neat, elegant signature at the bottom of the page.