Chapter 9 - The Settlement
Three months later, the formal divorce proceedings were concluded in the Suffolk Family and Probate Court.
The hearing lasted seventeen minutes.
Victor sat at the defendant's table beside his public defender—his private attorney having withdrawn three weeks earlier due to unpaid legal bills. He wore a navy hospital-issue suit provided for incarcerated individuals appearing for civil hearings, his hands resting flat on the mahogany table.
Sarah sat across the aisle, dressed in a soft powder-blue dress, her father’s gold watch on her wrist.
Judge Marcus Allen reviewed the final property settlement agreement.
“Mr. Vance,” Judge Allen said, looking over his reading glasses at Victor. “Under the terms of this agreement, you waive all rights, title, and interest in the Brookline real estate, all claims to the Vance Family Trust, and all remaining assets of Vance Development Group. In exchange, Mrs. Vance agrees to waive her right to restitution for the four hundred thousand dollars drawn against her personal credit line prior to your arrest.”
Victor didn't look up. “I sign,” he said, his voice a flat, monophonic murmur.
“Mrs. Vance,” the judge continued, turning to Sarah. “Is this agreement satisfactory to you?”
“It is, Your Honor,” Sarah said clearly.
The judge brought down his gavel. “The marriage between Victor Vance and Sarah Elizabeth Vance is hereby dissolved. The civil judgment is entered.”
As the bailiff stepped forward to guide Victor back toward the holding cell behind the courtroom, Victor paused. He turned his head, looking back at Sarah one last time.
“Why didn't you just leave me, Sarah?” he asked, his voice echoing in the empty courtroom. “Why didn't you just pack your bags and leave when you heard me on the phone?”
Sarah stood up, pulling her leather handbag over her shoulder.
“If I had left quietly, Victor,” Sarah said softly, “you would have spent the rest of your life believing you were clever. You would have taken my house, lived on my money, and told your friends I was just another foolish woman who gave up too easily.”
She walked toward the aisle, stopping right beside the defense table.
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“I wanted you to know,” Sarah added, “that I didn't lose anything in that operating room. I gave you a piece of my flesh to save your life. And then I kept everything else because it belonged to me all along.”
She didn't wait for his response. She turned and walked out of the courtroom into the bright, sunlit marble corridor of the courthouse, where Daniel Sterling was waiting with two cups of hot coffee.
