Silence suffocated the line.
Then, Richard spoke, his tone completely stripped of its false warmth. “There is absolutely no need for hysterical threats, Katherine.”
“You’re entirely right. It’s not a threat. Consider it formal legal notice.” I terminated the call.
Across the sterile room, Madeline whimpered in her sleep, her brow furrowed in a nightmare. I stood up, walked to the reinforced window, and stared down at the sprawling, glittering grid of Los Angeles below.
For thirty-two years, I had preached to my clients that rage was a chaotic element; it had to be sterilized and managed to be legally useful. Tonight, I learned the truth. A mother’s rage didn’t need to be sterilized. It just needed to be aimed.
And my crosshairs were locked. But as the sun began to bleed over the horizon, a sickening thought rooted itself in my mind: If he was bold enough to beat her in front of me, what was he doing behind the firewall of their bank accounts?
Chapter 3: The Paper Trail
The following morning, Spencer posted bail. It was as predictable as the sunrise.
Men of his socio-economic pedigree knew the choreography of the justice system intimately. Arrest. High-priced defense attorney. Cash bond. A freshly pressed navy suit. A mask of public devastation masking private vengeance. He couldn’t return to the Houston condo because Detective Miller had successfully secured an emergency Ex Parte Protective Order. Instead, he checked himself into a five-star suite in Beverly Hills.
By noon, his proxy war had begun. He deployed flying monkeys—three distant relatives, two junior partners from his firm, and one mutual “friend” from Madeline’s country club. They bombarded my phone and email. They all wore different costumes, but sang the same insidious chorus:
He’s destroyed. He’s seeking counseling. Don’t ruin his career over one mistake. Think of the scandal. Not a single one of them asked: Is Madeline physically safe?
I screenshotted and archived every single message. Evidence of third-party contact violation.
Constance, having been released on her own recognizance pending further investigation into her complicity, wasted zero time. By 1:00 p.m., she posted a manifesto on her private Facebook page:
