Chapter 5 - The Legal Shield
In a high-rise office building overlooking Bayfront Park, Skylar sat across from Elena Rostova—one of Miami’s most formidable family law attorneys, known throughout the legal community for her surgical precision in high-asset divorce cases.
Skylar wore a high-collared, cream-colored silk scarf wrapped neatly around her neck, covering the white medical bandage beneath. Her face was calm, her composure restored, her focus sharp as steel.
"We have filed three distinct actions this morning, Skylar," Rostova said, tapping a golden pen against her desk pad. "First, the emergency petition for exclusive use and possession of the Edgewater real estate. Second, the formal petition for dissolution of marriage. Third, a civil tort action for intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery."
"How quickly will the eviction notice be served on Derek?" Skylar asked.
"The magistrate signed the temporary possession order at 11:00 AM based on the police assault report," Rostova replied, sliding a blue-bound document across the table. "The Sheriff’s Office will serve Derek at the apartment within twenty-four hours. He will have forty-eight hours to vacate the premises entirely."
"And the financial accounts?"
Rostova smiled—a cold, practiced expression. "Since the Edgewater property was acquired prior to the marriage using entirely your pre-marital capital, and since Derek never contributed to the principal balance or HOA expenses from his personal accounts, his claim for marital equity is virtually nonexistent. We have already frozen his access to all joint accounts, and my team has filed a lis pendens on his individual assets to cover potential civil damages from the assault."
Skylar leaned back in her chair, taking a slow sip of cold water from a glass bottle. "His sister Suzanne called my office three times this morning from different numbers."
"What did she want?"
"She left a voicemail claiming I was 'ruining a family over a minor argument' and demanded I drop the police charges so Derek could access his company funds to help her settle her rent arrears," Skylar said, her tone devoid of emotion.
Rostova shook her head slowly. "Do not respond to her. I am adding Suzanne Mercer to the non-contact provision of the protective order. If she calls your office again, she will be in direct contempt of court, which carries an immediate bench warrant."
"I have no intention of speaking to either of them, Elena," Skylar said softly. "For three years, I felt like I was drowning in an endless series of demands. Every time I said no, they made me feel as if I were the villain in my own life."
"That is how financial and emotional coercion works, Skylar," Rostova said gently, her tone softening slightly. "They build a system where your boundaries are treated as acts of war. The moment you enforce those boundaries, the system breaks."
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"I don't want a settlement from him, Elena," Skylar said, looking the attorney dead in the eye. "I don't want his money. I don't want an apology. I want my home back, I want my name cleared, and I want him held legally accountable for every step he took."
"He will be, Skylar," Rostova promised, closing the thick file folder. "Believe me, he will be."
