I was invited to my ex-husband’s wedding on the same day I gave birth to his child.

Three days later.

The visitation room inside the Cook County Jail was cold, grey, and smelled heavily of industrial bleach. Stainless steel tables were bolted to the concrete floor, divided by thick acrylic glass panels.

I sat on one side of the table wearing an immaculate cream-colored suit, my hair styled in soft waves, holding a small leather folder. Opposite me sat Ethan.

The three days in custody had completely destroyed his polished appearance. He wore a bright orange inmate jumpsuit, his hands restrained by heavy wrist shackles. His hair was greasy and uncombed, dark circles shadowed his bloodshot eyes, and his hands shook uncontrollably as he picked up the telephone receiver attached to the wall.

I picked up my receiver, holding it to my ear with cool composure.

"Emma..." Ethan wept, his voice cracking against the glass. "Thank God you came! Please... you have to help me! My lawyer says the federal prosecutors are charging me with four counts of felony wire fraud! They're talking about ten to fifteen years in a federal penitentiary!"

"I know," I said calmly. "I reviewed the indictment this morning with Harrison."

"It was Lauren!" Ethan shouted frantically, slamming his shackled hands against the steel table. "I swear to you, Emma, it was all Lauren! She brought me those financial documents! She told me we were just protecting our future! I didn't know she stole your father's inheritance! You have to drop the charges!"

"I can't drop federal criminal charges, Ethan," I replied smoothly. "The State of Illinois and the Department of Justice are prosecuting you, not me. I am simply a prosecution witness providing verified financial evidence."

Ethan pressed his forehead against the acrylic glass, tears streaming down his hollow cheeks. "Emma, please... I'm begging you. I made a terrible mistake. I was blind, I was stupid! I thought Lauren loved me, but she was just using me for my company's money! I love you, Emma. I've always loved you! We can fix this! We can be a family with Maya!"

A cold, bitter laugh escaped my lips. "You love me, Ethan? You called me defective. You told me I was half a woman because I couldn't carry a child. You threw me out onto the street six months after my second miscarriage so you could flaunt your young mistress."

"I was wrong!" he sobbed. "I was terrified! Every time we lost a baby, I felt like a failure, and I took it out on you because I was too cowardly to face my own pain! Please, give me a second chance! Let me be a father to Maya! I'll sign over everything! I'll give you Carter Capital, the condo, everything!"

"I already own Carter Capital and the condo, Ethan," I said, pulling a signed court order from my folder and pressing it against the glass. "Yesterday afternoon, the chancery court judge officially overturned our divorce settlement. All of your personal and corporate assets have been permanently transferred to me and Maya as restitution for marital fraud."

Ethan stared at the document, his eyes bulging in utter disbelief. "You... you took everything?"

"You gave it away the moment you decided to steal from me," I replied coldly. "And as for Maya... you will never see her, Ethan. You will never hold her hand, you will never hear her speak, and your name will never appear on her birth certificate. When she asks me about her father when she grows up, I will tell her that her father was a ghost who disappeared a long time ago."

Ethan began to wail, pounding his fists against the glass, but I calmly hung up the phone receiver, stood up, and smoothed down my suit jacket.