Chapter 4 - The Petition
The attachment was a copy of a filing Gavin’s attorney had prepared.
It concerned custody.
For several seconds, fear swallowed every rational thought I had.
Then I called my lawyer.
She answered immediately.
“Don't respond to him.”
“He's threatening to take my baby.”
“He's trying to frighten you.”
She walked me through what the document did and did not mean.
That distinction saved me.
A legal filing was not a magic spell.
An accusation wasn't proof.
And Gavin's betrayal didn't automatically determine his rights as a father either.
Facts mattered.
Evidence mattered.
So I stopped reading his message emotionally and started reading it like an underwriter.
Then I noticed something.
A date.
The document had been drafted before the baby shower.
Before Gavin knew I had discovered the affair.
This wasn't retaliation.
It had been part of the plan.
The next morning, June drove me to my attorney's office.
We spent four hours organizing everything.
Messages.
Transfers.
Emails.
Property documents.
Dates.
I hated every second.
Not because I doubted myself.
Because each page represented another moment when the man sleeping beside me had been planning against me.
At noon, Lorraine called.
“I found something.”
She sounded shaken.
“What?”
“Gavin left boxes in our garage last month.”
My lawyer advised that Lorraine should not search private materials recklessly, but she could identify property already voluntarily stored with her.
One box contained copies of financial records.
And those records led to another discovery.
Gavin had debts.
Large ones.
He had hidden them.
Suddenly, the attempted control of my house made more sense.
He wasn't simply planning a romantic future with Maren.
He needed financial security.
My inheritance had become his solution.
That evening Maren called me.
I almost didn't answer.
“Tessa.”
Her voice was broken.
“What do you want?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“Then tell my attorney.”
“Gavin lied to me.”
I laughed once.
“So?”
“He said you were planning to leave him.”
“And that made sleeping with my husband acceptable?”
“No.”
“At least we agree on something.”
She cried quietly.
Then she said something that stopped me.
“He told me the petition was your idea.”
“What petition?”
“The house.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“He said you wanted to transfer it.”
Another lie.
Another layer.
But then Maren said, “There's more.”
I waited.
“He asked me to sign something.”
“What?”
“I didn't understand it.”
“Send it to my lawyer.”
“I don't have it.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because Gavin does.”
She inhaled shakily.
“And I think he forged your signature.”
May you like
That changed everything.
---
