The Divorce Table
Chapter 12 - The Divorce Table
The divorce mediation happened six months later.
Anna sat across from David.
Their lawyers sat between them.
The marriage had been simpler than the fraud.
Anna kept her inherited Charleston property.
The house remained hers.
David surrendered claims to several shared investments as partial restitution for money taken from Joan's inheritance.
Anna surprised everyone by insisting that Emily receive her rightful share first.
Emily called afterward.
"You didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did."
"Why?"
"Because your brother spent years making women compete for whatever he decided to give us."
Anna paused.
"I'm done participating."
Emily began crying.
The criminal case continued separately.
David pleaded guilty to charges related to fraud and forged documents.
Because he cooperated against Robert and helped recover assets, he received a reduced sentence.
Anna attended sentencing once.
David looked at her before the judge spoke.
She didn't smile.
She didn't look away.
He received eighteen months in federal custody followed by supervised release.
Caroline was not charged.
Investigators concluded she had been deceived about the property ownership and later cooperated fully.
But Caroline lost almost all the inheritance she invested.
Anna heard she moved back to Virginia.
They did not become friends.
Life wasn't a television show.
Some people entered your story to teach you something and then disappeared.
Melissa agreed to a DNA test for Ryan.
The result arrived two weeks later.
David was not his father.
Anna felt unexpected relief.
Not for David.
For Ryan.
One child, at least, would not have to untangle his identity from this mess.
Melissa called Anna.
"Can we ever be friends again?"
Anna thought carefully.
"Not the way we were."
Melissa cried.
"But maybe someday we can be two people who remember each other kindly."
It wasn't forgiveness.
May you like
But it wasn't hatred either.
Anna was learning how much space existed between the two.
