“In a few days, I’ll have her out of the house,” Julian said casually, as if discussing a contractor delay instead of a wife and mother. “It’s just a matter of timing.”
“And the kids?” Vanessa asked, equally casual, swirling wine in a glass.
“I’ll take custody,” he said. “I have the legal support lined up. She doesn’t have anything.”
A quiet shock passed through the room. Even people who had walked in hungry for spectacle were not prepared for the intimacy of contempt.
The video continued.
“And the company?” Vanessa asked.
Julian smiled. “That’s already mine. She signed everything without understanding it.”
Judge Whitmore paused the recording.
His face had gone hard in a way everyone recognized.
“Do you deny that is your voice, Mr. Reeves?”
Julian’s mouth opened, then closed. “That proves nothing illegal.”
Eleanor’s expression did not change. “It proves intent. The rest proves conduct.”
A second file opened.