Chapter 2: What Shirley Already Knew
The banking rep confirmed the freeze within minutes.
Every card.
Every account Everett could touch.
Gone.
I sat on the shoulder of that highway for a long time, watching the traffic blur past, my hands perfectly steady on the wheel.
Then I called my attorney.
"Eleanor, it's Stella.
I need to start the divorce filing today.
Not tomorrow.
Today."
A brief pause.
"Stella…
are you sure?"
"He's still in Atlanta," I said.
"He just spent fifteen thousand dollars at Lumina Jewelers.
His flight to London boards in forty minutes."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"I'll have the paperwork ready by noon."
I drove home slowly.
Shirley was already in my kitchen when I walked through the door, reorganizing my cabinets without asking.
"You're back early," she said, not turning around.
"Everett get off alright?"
"He did," I said calmly.
She finally turned and looked at me.
Something in my expression made her go still.
"What's wrong with you?"
I set my phone face-up on the counter between us.
The transaction alert was still on the screen.
Shirley stared at it.
Her face shifted — but not into shock.
Into something that looked almost like recognition.
She had known.
---
What else was Shirley hiding — and for how long?
Stella was only beginning to uncover the truth.
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