Chapter 9: The Hearing
Six weeks later, Gretchen called me from outside a courthouse in Columbus.
"It's done," she said.
I was at work.
I stepped into the hallway and pressed the phone close.
"Tell me."
"The judge reviewed the LLC filing, the property transfer timeline, and the Sandra Ellery call — which Diane's attorney entered into the record this morning.
Connor's attorneys tried to argue the Indiana transfer was routine business restructuring." A pause.
"The judge didn't agree."
"What does that mean for Diane?"
"The Indiana parcel goes back into the marital estate for valuation.
The commercial unit in Columbus is also being reconsidered.
Combined with the Alderman Road property, Diane's share of the settlement just increased substantially."
"How substantially?"
"Her attorney is projecting somewhere between 380 and 420 thousand dollars.
Versus the 180 he offered her to walk away."
I leaned against the hallway wall.
Through the glass door, I could see my colleagues at their desks, working, unaware.
"And Connor?" I asked.
"He'll keep the LLC.
He'll keep his job.
But the hidden assets are no longer hidden, and his attorney's fees for this have been significant.
He also received a formal reprimand from the court for the asset transfer.
It's on the record." Gretchen paused.
"Sandra Ellery's role is being reviewed separately.
The bar association received a complaint regarding the phone call she made to you."
"She could lose her license?"
"It's possible.
The investigation is ongoing."
I was quiet for a moment.
Down the hall, someone laughed at something.
An ordinary afternoon in an ordinary office.
"Did he say anything?" I asked.
"At the hearing?"
"His attorney spoke for him.
But at one point the judge asked Connor directly whether he had disclosed the LLC to either his current fiancée or his estranged wife at any point during the engagement." A pause.
"He said no."
"Just no?"
"Just no.
Quietly.
Looking at the table."
I thought about the garden.
The fountain.
The silence when I asked him if that was a wedding photo.
Some men, I thought, only knew how to be quiet when the truth finally had nowhere left to hide.
"Gretchen," I said.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me.
You did the hard part." A brief pause.
"How are you?"
"I'm working on it."
"That's the right answer."
After I hung up, I stood in the hallway for another minute.
Then I went back to my desk and finished the afternoon.
That evening I drove home to my own apartment — the one I had kept even after Connor and I had started talking about moving in together, the one I had almost given up the lease on twice.
I made dinner for one.
I poured a glass of wine.
I thought about calling Diane, then decided to wait.
She would call when she was ready.
May you like
I thought about Lily.
That one was harder.
