Adrian:
That won’t be a problem.
I read those two lines until they stopped hurting.
Then one more message appeared three months later.
Adrian:
This is getting complicated. I actually care about her.
Thomas:
Care after the transfer.
That one hurt worse.
Because maybe Adrian had loved me.
Maybe some part of our marriage had been real.
It changed nothing.
Love does not become absolution just because it exists beside betrayal.
Six months later, our divorce was underway.
The criminal cases were still moving.
There was no dramatic courtroom speech.
No perfect sentencing scene.
Just lawyers.
Evidence.
Continuances.
Financial audits.
Adrian eventually entered a plea on several charges and agreed to cooperate regarding his parents’ role.
Thomas fought everything.
Margaret blamed Thomas.
Thomas blamed Adrian.
Adrian blamed fear.
Everyone had an explanation.
None of them had my trust.
The Mercer family recovered every dollar before the transfer completed.
That part was almost anticlimactic.
