My Reborn Apocalypse Begins with a Divorce novel Chapter 16

Lauren scrambled

up

from the floor. The fall naa numɩ,

UL

She cried into the phone, “Are you sure it’s 40 million, not 4 million? One digit makes a huge difference!”

“40 million. I checked three times.” Henry’s voice was steady. “And the funds were credited to Ray’s account out! after your divorce. The source is…the lottery’s prize account.”

“What?” She sprang up. “You mean he only claimed the prize after the divorce?”

Would that still count as marital property? She didn’t have a law degree, but she knew enough to suspect that timing mattered.

Henry walked her through it. “If he bought the tickets before the divorce–say, one or two days earlier–then it’s clearly marital property. If he bought it the same day, we need to know whether the purchase was before or after the divorce was finalized.”

Lauren thought fast and then decided. “He must have bought it before the divorce. Otherwise, why would he insist on walking away with nothing? He rushed the divorce to keep the prize for himself.”

The logic felt right to her–except it ignored one obvious point: the draw hadn’t happened yet, so how could he have known he’d win? She didn’t dwell on that inconsistency; her conclusion fit the story she needed to tell.

Henry chuckled. “Then congratulations in advance. You could be entitled to nearly 20 million.”

Her face lit up. “Get the court to freeze his accounts right away.”

“No problem,” Henry said the words enthusiastically; winning a 40–million–dollar divorce case would make his name in Senna City’s legal circles.

After she hung up, Lauren called Zac immediately.

“Zac-” she started.

“Do

12

he

i know how many people are already talking abo snapped.

t us? Why are you calling me? Are you i

“Listen,” she said, breathing in, “Ray got rich because he won the lottery.”

Zac fell silent. He had ruled out the lottery as a possibility–who actually wins those things?-but apparently Ray

had.

“How much?” he asked.

“Almost 40 million,” she said.

There was a thunk on the other end of the line: Zac had dropped something. The number landed on him like a blow. 40 million was a lot–who wouldn’t be stunned? And these funds were tied to them.

“When did he buy the tickets?” Zac asked. That was the hinge.

“Henry said it was either two days before the divorce or the day of the divorce–those are the only possibilities. That night, the draw produced a jackpot of 50 million across fifty winning tickets; it looks like Ray took the whole top prize.” She winced at the toll–ten million in taxes, gone.

In her mind, that tax money was theirs too–half of it at least.

Chapter 16

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