My forensic accountant began tracing the missing money.
Then we found something that created a much bigger problem for Mark.
His supposed business trip had never been a business trip.
He had used company funds to take Vanessa to Miami.
Hotel.
Flights.
Meals.
All submitted as client-development expenses.
His employer considered that expense fraud.
I didn’t call them.
Not yet.
Instead, I rented a small apartment.
Moved my grandmother’s furniture into it.
And let Mark keep exactly what he thought he had won.
The house.
Vanessa.
And enough confidence to start making mistakes.
On Sunday, I handed him my keys.
He smirked.
“See?”
He leaned against the doorway.
“This didn’t have to get ugly.”
I smiled.
“No.”
Then I added,
“It really didn’t.”
Three days later, I officially claimed the lottery prize through the legal structure Rachel recommended.
After mandatory withholding and professional planning, the funds were secured while the divorce court determined what legally belonged to each of us.
