bChapter /bb8 /b

Two secondster, his face was a storm cloud. He rushed back, voice tight. “Kathleen got jumped by the defendant. I gotta gob.” /b

“What?” Brian’s voice cracked, eyes wide with panic. “Is Kathleen okay? Dad, let’s go to the hospital!”

And just like that, Kathleen stole the show.

They tore out of there, leaving Maxine high and dry. The photographer blinked, totally thrown. “Uh… we still snapping this pic?b” /b

No family photo today.

No family, period.

A sharp ache twisted in Maxine’s chest, like vines choking her heart. She shot the photographer a brittle smile. “Just take it.”

One snap, and she bailed from Six gs.

She swung by the bank, swapped some cash, and tied up loose ends. Back home, she started packing.

Time to hit the road.

Later, scrolling her phone, she caught Kathleen’s post: hospital gown, sandwiched between Sebastian and Brian, ball /bcozy.

Picture–perfect family.

Maxine’s lips twitched. She hit “like” and scrolled on.

Sebastian and Brian dragged in near ten. After tucking Brian in, Sebastian found Maxine propped up in bed, nose in a book. He rubbed his neck, all sheepish. “Sorry, today was a mess. We’ll hit Six gs next time, promise.”

Maxine didn’t look up, voice t as day–old soda. “Sure thing.”

She wasn’t pitching a fit, but her chill vibe made Sebastian antsy.

His eyesnded on the bedside calendar, the 25th circled in red. “What’s the deal with the 25th?”

Maxine paused, then shrugged it off. “Business trip.”

“A trip?” His brows knit, suspicious. “You never said anything. What’s the case?”

She mmed her book shut, a smirk dripping with shade. “Why? Wanna toss this one to Kathleen too?b” /b

Sebastian’s face turned to stone.

He clenched his jaw, voice sharp as a de. “You’re ticked I gave Kathleen that assault case?”

Maxine let out ba /bdry, bitter chuckle.

Ticked? That was putting it mildly. She was this close to smacking Sebastian silly.

All these years married, she’d figured he was just wired cold, not the warm–and–fuzzy type. Now it hit her like a ton of bricks–he didn’t love her. Never

had.

Drained, she squeezed her eyes shut, exhaustion written all over her. “Sebastian, you knew that case was my whole worldb. /bThat bslime /bbwho /bbhurt /bbthat /bgirl? He’s loadedb, /bconnected. Dumping the files on Kathleen out of the blue? You know how bad this could blow bup/bb? /bHow many bholes /bbthat /bbcreep /bbcould /bbslip /bthrough?”

Sebastian would move heaven and earth for his precious Kathleen–Maxine was past giving a damn. But she wasn’t babout /bto let that bgirl’s /bbshot /bat justice get trashed by someone else’s fumble.

“If you know the defendant’s got that kind of pull, you’d better y it cool,” Sebastian said, his stare icy. “Not go acting ball /breckless.”

Maxine’sugh was sharp enough to cut ss. “Reckless? Yeah, that’s me to a T.”

She pped her book onto the nightstand with a loud thwack, stormed out of bed, and yanked the bedroom door open.

“So, Mr. Mason.” she said. “How about you get a clue? Go crash in the study. I’ve already filed for divorcé, and whether you’re cool with it or bnot/bb, /bbyou’re /bgonna respect my space. I’m not sharing a bed with a guy who’s about to be my iex/i.”

Sebastian didn’t say a word, but as he strode out, his face was a thundercloud ready to burst.

It was the first time Maxine had seen him let his guard down like that.

Back when she still cared, she’d have spent days picking apart what was eating him.

Now? She was over it.

Sliding back into bed, Maxine set her rm and tried to catch some shut–eye.

Three days from now was the first hearing for the assault case. She couldn’t plead the intiff’s case, but she’d be in that courtroomb, /bbwatching /blike ba /b

hawk.

If there was even a sliver of a chance for a win, Maxine was holding on tight.

As she drifted offb, /bshe clung to a faint scrap of hope. The case had rock–solid evidence–witnesses, the works.

The only curveball was that hotshot defendant.

‘Bute onb, /bcould he really stand up in court and weasel out of all that proof?‘ she mused.

With that thin thread offort, Maxine sank into a heavy sleep.