CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ZANDER
––––––––
“He saidwhat?!”Courtney cries.
The wine she’s pouring slops everywhere.I round the kitchen bench and take it from her.I did warn her to sit down, but she insisted on pouring us a glass of merlot.
“Let me do this.”
“I didn’t steal anything,” she continues as I mop up the spill with paper towels.
“Good.Then we’ll get a forensic accountant and ask for the documentation to disprove it,” I say, throwing the paper towels into the trash, then lift the glass and pass it to her.“Drink.”
Her eyes shift to mine, and I see worry lining her face.I don’t blame her.Being accused of stealing marital assets is a strong accusation, especially for a woman with no public history of contributing to their wealth.
“I did move money from our accounts before I left.”
“What percentage of the balance did you move?”
This is important.
It’s not breaking the law to take funds from a joint account.Emptying the accounts, on the other hand, could fall into thehidingorspending wastefully category,which means a spouse is violating their spouse’s right to fair property division.
Ditto if she’s moved it out of state.
“God, I don’t know.He—we—I was told he had ten million in the account.I moved two hundred and fifty thousand.”
I blink.
“You weretold?You couldn’t see the balance?”
“No, it was all in Adam’s name.I was just given a card and told to be careful with my spending.”
What?It wasn’t a joint account?
The fuck?The guy is a billionaire, and he tells his wife to be careful with her spending and restricts her from working and educating herself.
That’s abuse.Or, at best, neglect.
I’m starting to really dislike him.Strongly.There’s only one reason a man would do this to his wife, and that’s because he doesn’t trust her.Very rarely is it to do with the other person.Adam Blackmore is a controlling man, which aligns with what I’ve heard about him as a businessman.
Unless I’m wrong about Courtney and clouded by my attraction to it.
It’s a moot point, anyway.I’m not a judge, and thisisn’ta trial.I’m her lawyer, and my job is to negotiate her settlement.
“Was everything in his name?”I ask to clarify the picture I’m painting in my head.
“Yes.I technically had nothing.I couldn’t walk away with nothing, Zander.Without an income source of my own, I would be vulnerable.I knew he’d cancel the credit card.”
“Because he wouldn’t let you work,” I mutter to myself, nodding.“What do you mean bytechnically?”
Courtney chews her bottom lip, looking guilty, and my stomach drops.
Please don’t tell me something that’s going to make Adam the good guy.Please.
