Chapter 2 - THE WIFE WHO STOPPED WAITING
The morning after Lucas left for his imaginary Swiss assignment, I called an attorney.
Her name was Eleanor Price.
She specialized in complex divorces involving business ownership and disputed assets.
I sat across from her in a quiet downtown Denver office.
She reviewed the documents I'd brought.
Then looked up.
“Claire, how long have you been married?”
“Six years.”
“And how long has your husband been planning this?”
“I don't know.”
She nodded.
“We'll need to establish that.”
I looked down.
“I don't want revenge.”
Eleanor studied me.
“What do you want?”
I took a breath.
“To protect what belongs to me.”
She smiled faintly.
“Then we'll start there.”
We reviewed our finances.
The house.
Investment accounts.
Business interests.
Retirement savings.
Then Eleanor asked a question that made me pause.
“Did your husband ever ask you to sign documents you didn't fully understand?”
I thought about it.
Then remembered.
Three months earlier, Lucas had brought home a stack of papers.
He'd said they concerned tax planning.
I'd been busy preparing dinner.
He'd asked me to sign several pages.
I hadn't.
I'd told him I wanted to read them first.
He'd become irritated.
I remembered his exact words.
Claire, you're making this unnecessarily complicated.
I looked at Eleanor.
“He tried.”
Her expression sharpened.
“Do you still have the documents?”
I nodded.
“They're in my desk.”
She leaned forward.
“Bring them to me.”
That evening, I returned home.
The house was quiet.
Lucas's suitcase was gone.
His shoes were missing from the closet.
But everything else remained exactly as he'd left it.
I walked into my office.
Opened the bottom drawer.
And found the unsigned papers.
At the top was a document labeled:
Spousal Consent and Authorization.
I stared.
Then turned the page.
My name appeared beneath a signature line.
And below it was a paragraph authorizing the transfer of certain marital assets.
I felt cold.
Lucas had wanted me to sign away rights I didn't even know were at risk.
I photographed the documents.
May you like
Then placed them in a folder.
For the first time, I was grateful I'd refused to sign.
