Kevin's jaw worked, and his eyes narrowed. "I’m not signing this, Michael," he said flatly.
"I would advise you to read the rest of it," Michael replied. “Then pick up that pen beside your hand and sign it.”
Kevin glanced down at the second page. He paused.
"What is this?" Kevin asked, pointing to a section on the page he was on.
"That is a summary of the design theft case Maggie has been quietly documenting for the last fourteen months," Michael answered. "She has receipts, dates, photographs of altered stock appearing on the Kitsch Couture floor within seventy-two hours of new arrivals at her boutique.” He saw Kevin’s eyes grow wide this time with fear. “We also have witness statements from two former Kitsch Couture seamstresses who have already cooperated under a non-disclosure agreement with Maggie's legal team."
"That proves nothing," Kevin said.
"On its own, no," Michael agreed. "Combined with what we received this afternoon, it proves a great deal."
"What did you receive this afternoon?" Kevin asked.
Michael didn’t answer immediately. He let the silence sit and watched Kevin work himself into a cold sweat. Then, with deliberate unhurried movements, Michael reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced Kevin's phone. He set it carefully on Kevin's desk, screen up, between them.
Kevin stared at it.
"That’s my phone," Kevin said slowly. “I was wondering where it went to and how I ended up with…” His brows shot up as it suddenly dawned on him what had happened and when.
"I picked it up by mistake in Maggie's office this morning," Michael told him. "I didn't realize until it was too late, and you were already gone."
Kevin's face went white. "That is not admissible," he said.
"It is admissible," Michael corrected. "Inadvertent discovery of evidence on a device picked up in good faith, with no passcode protection, is a recognized exception." His face went blank. "I had to check the phone to find out whose it was." A smile lifted on one side of his mouth. "And in case it does get challenged, I've already issued litigation hold notices to your carrier and to Vanessa's. The messages exist on the carrier servers regardless of what you delete from the device in front of you. They will be preserved pending discovery."
"On what grounds?" Kevin hissed. "A divorce doesn't get you those records."
"This is no longer just about the divorce, Kevin," Michael pointed out. "I am now retained as counsel for the celebrity Vanessa just defamed across three platforms in violation of a signed waiver. That gives me standing to pursue civil discovery against Kitsch Couture for breach of contract, misappropriation of name and likeness, and false advertising. Your messages with Vanessa establish your participation. That makes you a co-defendant in a federal civil action, Kevin. Not a divorce. A federal civil action with statutory damages, attorneys' fees, and the kind of public record that will follow you for the rest of your career."
Kevin sat very still.
"On top of that," Michael continued evenly, "Maggie has independent grounds for a civil conspiracy claim on the design theft. And there is the matter of the message thread with Mr. Johnson, in which you offered to sell shares in a building you do not own. Maggie owns that building outright. Has owned it from before the marriage. The deed is in her name and her grandfather's trust. What you offered Mr. Johnson is fraud in the inducement, Kevin. If he paid you a deposit on the basis of that offer, that is a separate criminal matter."
Kevin was no longer looking at the document; he was staring blankly at the wall behind Michael and had gone deathly pale. Eventually, his eyes, heavy with the knowledge he was about to be crushed, asked. “What do you want?”
"Kevin," Michael said, "I will be direct with you. Maggie doesn’t want a trial. She just wants your marriage to end today, on the terms set out in the document in front of you. If you sign this afternoon, Maggie will not pursue the design theft case against you personally, only against Vanessa and Kitsch Couture.”
“No, leave Vanessa out of this,” Kevin retorted. “You’ll ruin her business.”
“She should’ve thought of that before stealing other people’s work,” Maggie pointed out coldly. “And not reading what she’s signing, especially when a high-profile celebrity hands you a waiver to sign.”
Kevin glared at Maggie for a while before turning to Michael. Defiance lit his eyes once again. "And if I don’t sign?”
"If you don't sign," Michael answered, "I will file the design theft case, the breach of guardianship motion, and the conspiracy claim by close of business tomorrow. The B. Johnson thread will be added to the filings. Every piece of evidence on the phone in front of you will be entered into the public record. Every name in Vanessa's messages, every paid contact, every screenshot. Vanessa will lose her boutique within a week, but she will regardless of whether you sign or not.” He shrugged. “I suggest you distance yourself from that matter if you don’t want to go down with her sinking ship.” Then went back to the divorce. “The difference of whether you sign or not is whether your name appears in the filings as her co-defendant. I expect it would. I expect, Kevin, that the financial qualifications certificate behind your head would not survive a criminal conspiracy indictment."
Kevin looked at the certificate on his wall, his eyes widening as realization struck. Then he looked back at the document on his desk. His eyes scanned it once again. Without uttering another word, Kevin picked up the pen from his desk. Then he started to initial where he had to, and signed all the spaces clearly marked for his signature.
When he was finished, he set the pen down and slid the document back to Michael.
Michael picked up the document, checked the signatures, and then placed it back inside the leather folder.
"Thank you, Kevin," Michael said evenly. "I will file the executed contract with the court this afternoon. You will receive a stamped copy by courier in the morning. The decree will be granted within fourteen business days."
Kevin didn’t answer. He sat with his shoulder slumped.
"I will also advise you," Michael continued, "that any communication from yourself or Vanessa to Maggie now goes through me. Direct contact will be treated as harassment and added to the existing filings. Neither of you is to set foot on the premises of Maggie's boutique, her home, or any property she owns. Is that understood, Kevin?"
