Page 28 of Chill

Gerard signed the papers with a flourish. Kendara handed me a copy and then passed a set to a silent, grim-appearing man.

“Rooster, please go get these filed immediately,” she said. Kent did the same. Then Kendara turned to Gerard and smiled. It reminded me of a shark’s smile.

“When will you be exiting the marital home?” she asked.

“What?” Gerard sneered, looking smug. Kendara shoved some papers over to Kent, who blanched.

“The property is in your ex-wife’s name,” Kent said.

“No! It can’t be!” Gerard exclaimed.

“It is. You told me it was in yours,” Kent replied, concerned.

Gerard snatched the paperwork. “That was placed in Judy’s name!” he cried. Kent groaned as Kendara sat forward.

“This meeting is still being recorded, and you just admitted attempting to put an asset in your mistress’s name?” Kendara demanded. “Looks like your client was trying to rob mine by hiding assets, which is a crime.”

“Say nothing else,” Kent warned.

Gerard turned puce as Kendara tapped the paperwork. Gerard ripped it up in temper, and she laughed. “That was a copy, as is mine. The original is on file at the county clerk. And no. You can’t pull it and destroy it. Believe me, I made sure of that. Locksmiths are already en route to change the locks. So, I guess you’ll remove your belongings today?”

“You can’t do this,” Gerard yelled.

“Sir, you signed off on it. Meadow can take control of a property in her name,” Kendara said smugly.

Gerard turned to his lawyer.

“Kendara’s right,” Kent ground out.

Gerard didn’t like that answer. “That’s my home!”

“Not according to that paperwork. No wonder you were trying to screw Meadow over,” Kendara taunted.

Gerard took several deep breaths. Kendara tapped her phone, then looked up.

“Fine, have the fuckin’ house,” Gerard snarled.

“Indeed, Meadow will. Also, we want the keys to the condo in the South of France, and the lodge in Vermont. Include keys for the apartment in New York, and the palazzo in Venice, and the yacht in South Carolina.” As she spoke, Kendara slid the ownership papers across to Kent. Then she continued, laying claim to everything Gerard had.

“What’s going on?” Gerard blew up.

“Those are in my name!” Judy cried.

“Why would marital assets be in your name? Do you have proof of this fraudulent claim?” Kendara asked.

“They’ve all been registered,” Gerard snarled.

“Indeed, I have the documents. This is when you registered them? Yes? Are you claiming that despite several court orders not to sell or transfer any shared marital property, you’ve attempted to do so? Looks like that backfired.” Kendara tapped the paperwork, and they both went pale.

I knew it was the date Gerard and Judy had put things into her name. That’s what kept it realistic. And as bad as it sounded, I was damn well enjoying this. Gerard was finally getting his comeuppance. Judy was paler than Gerard as she realised she was watching her cash cow disappear.

“Those are fake!” Gerard howled.

“We guessed you’d say that. Here’s confirmation from five renowned handwriting experts that this is your signature. The watermarks show on the paper, too. These are not forgeries. I can’t quite understand your plan. Why put everything in Meadow’s name? That doesn’t make sense,” Kendara asked, and even though I was aware of what was happening, I believed her sincerity.

“No! No!” Gerard screamed. He lunged across the table at me, and I shunted backwards, jumping out of my chair. Gerard’s hands reached for my throat, and one of the security guards Kendara had insisted on slammed him to the ground.

“Stay down,” the guy warned him.