Part 12
The weekend passed in a blur of quiet preparation.
Every corner of my new apartment felt like a fortress, a sanctuary they couldn't penetrate.
But silence can be deceptive.
On Monday morning, my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
I usually ignored them, but something told me to answer.
"Elena," a voice rasped.
It was Jason.
He sounded hollow, stripped of the booming arrogance that used to define him.
"You think you’ve won, don't you?" he whispered, his breath heavy against the receiver.
"You think you can just erase me from Lily's life?"
I didn't say a word.
I listened to the desperation in his voice, mapping the precise layout of his ruin.
"My mother is sick, Elena. The stress is killing her. The company assets are frozen. My brother is blaming me for everything."
He paused, waiting for a gasp, a tear, a shred of the compliant woman he used to control.
But that woman had died the day he threatened my daughter.
"Please," he finally said, the word tasting like poison on his tongue.
"Just talk to Robert. Tell him to drop the fraud allegations. We can settle the custody out of court. You can have whatever you want."
I leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Lily color a picture of a smiling sun.
"I already have everything I want, Jason," I said calmly.
"And as for the court next week? Bring a good suit. It will be the last time anyone sees you looking like a gentleman."
I hung up before he could scream.
I blocked the number, but I knew this was just the beginning of his thrashing.
A dying beast always kicks the hardest before it stops moving entirely.
Later that afternoon, Robert called to confirm our strategy.
He told me Jason had hired a bottom-tier lawyer, a desperate man taking a desperate case for a fraction of the usual fee.
"He's cornered, Elena," Robert warned, his voice steady but cautious.
"When men like Jason lose their money, they lose their minds. Be careful this week."
I thanked him and looked at the locks on my door.
I wasn't afraid anymore.
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Fear is a luxury for those who still have something to lose.
I had already protected my treasure. Now, I was just cleaning up the trash.
