Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 116

"That's fine. Just tell him I'll be waiting here until the office closes for lunch. If he doesn't show up, I'll proceed with the lawsuit."

"Well, about that..." Before Neil could finish his sentence, a low, authoritative voice took over the line.

"Hester, I have already made the situation with Melody perfectly clear. I don't understand what more you want from me."

"If you possessed the capacity to understand, you wouldn't have done any of it in the first place," Hester replied, her tone glacial. "And let's be honest—even if you didn't sleep with Melody, are you going to sit there and tell me you had absolutely no idea she was in love with you?"

Silence fell heavily over the line.

Julian's lack of an answer was exactly what Hester expected.

"You knew, Julian. You always knew. And you still chose to bring her into our lives. In my eyes, that is a betrayal."

Without waiting for another word, she ended the call.

She sat alone in the waiting area, staring down at the little numbered ticket in her hand as a profound, numbing chill spread through her chest.

The minutes ticked by, stretching into hours. All the way until the clerk's office closed for lunch, Julian never appeared.

It was the outcome she had anticipated.

Hester closed her eyes for a brief moment. Standing up, she tossed the ticket into the nearest trash can and walked out into the sunlight.

In the parking lot outside, her white Panamera was idling.

Hester walked over and slid into the passenger seat.

As the door shut, Gael glanced at the pristine divorce papers still clutched in Hester's hands. "Julian is unbelievable! Absolutely zero integrity!"

"We'll proceed with the move abroad first," Hester said, her face an unreadable mask. "According to Jasper, a lawsuit will drag on for months with no guaranteed outcome. The smartest play is to establish a two-year separation period. Once we hit that mark, the court will likely grant the divorce based on irreconcilable differences."

"I guess that's our only move," Gael sighed. "If push comes to shove, we'll just have to pull a disappearing act and let Julian think he's a widower!"

Hester's lips tightened into a thin line. "I was actually considering that."

Gael let out a long sigh. "Let's just get you home. Everything is already set up overseas. Now we just need to figure out exactly how to execute your exit strategy."

"Alright."

...

Over the next two days, Hester discreetly shipped her absolute essentials to her new address abroad.

After weighing her options, she decided that orchestrating a fatal car crash was the best way to vanish completely.

Gael warned her that making it airtight would be incredibly difficult and required pulling heavy favors from her international contacts.

After finalizing the brutal logistics, her departure date was locked in: the 26th of the month.

Before she vanished from Northwood City forever, Hester wanted to see Gigi one last time.