Chapter 8 - The Setup
|
The following morning, while Derek was at his downtown sales office pretending to be a model citizen, Skylar returned to the Biscayne Bay apartment.
She did not go alone. Officer Ramirez and another uniformed officer escorted her, ensuring her safety while she gathered the rest of her essential belongings. The officers waited by the front door, their presence a stark reminder of the new reality Skylar was building.
The apartment smelled faintly of stale coffee. The broken pieces of the ceramic cup were still scattered across the kitchen floor, exactly where they had fallen. Derek had clearly refused to clean it up, stubbornly waiting for his wife to return and obey his final command.
Skylar ignored the mess. She walked into the master bedroom and packed two large suitcases with her clothes, her jewelry, and a few sentimental items her grandmother had given her. She left Derek’s expensive, tailored suits hanging in the closet. She left his watches on the dresser.
Once her bags were packed and waiting by the door, Skylar walked into the kitchen.
She pulled a thick, manila envelope from her canvas bag. Cassandra Vance had worked late into the night, utilizing her connections to get the emergency restraining order signed by a judge at eight o'clock that morning. The envelope contained the signed order, the formal eviction notice, a copy of the original property deed with Skylar's name highlighted in bright yellow, and the divorce petition.
Skylar placed the envelope squarely in the center of the kitchen island, right next to the dried coffee puddle.
Then, she looked down at her left hand.
The diamond ring Derek had given her six years ago sparkled under the recessed kitchen lighting. It was a beautiful ring, but it had always been a symbol of ownership rather than a symbol of partnership.
She slid the ring off her finger. The skin beneath it felt strangely cold, but incredibly free.
She placed the glittering diamond ring directly on top of the manila envelope.
"Are you ready, Ms. Bennett?" Officer Ramirez asked softly from the hallway.
May you like
"I'm ready," Skylar said.
She didn't look back as she walked out the door. The trap was set, the evidence was filed, and the eviction was legally binding. Derek had ordered her out of his house, but he was about to discover that he had been standing in her castle the entire time.
