Chapter 7 - The Monday Morning Ambush
On Monday morning at eight-thirty, Daniel arrived at his office building in downtown Metro, looking like an absolute wreck.
His suit was wrinkled because he didn't know how to operate the steamer Sarah usually used. His hair was messy, dark circles hung heavily under his red eyes, and he smelled faintly of cheap stale pasta and cold sweat.
He stumbled into the carpeted lobby of Mercer Marketing Group, holding a paper cup of cheap gas-station coffee he had bought with his last five dollars of pocket cash.
As he reached the elevators, a tall, sharply dressed man in a charcoal suit stepped out from behind the security desk, carrying a thick manila envelope.
"Daniel Mercer?" the man asked in a loud, clear voice that echoes across the busy lobby.
Daniel blinked, startled. "Uh, yes? Who are you?"
"You've been served," the process server announced loudly, handing the heavy envelope directly into Daniel's trembling hands. "Divorce petition and emergency motion for temporary exclusive occupancy of the marital residence, filed by Voss & Sterling on behalf of Dr. Esme Voss."
Several of Daniel's co-workers who were standing nearby waiting for the elevator turned around, their eyes wide with shock.
"Di... divorce?!" Daniel stammered, holding the thick legal papers as if they were made of hot coals. "Wait! There's a mistake! My wife wouldn't—"
"Have a good day, sir," the process server said flatly, turning on his heel and walking out the glass doors.
Daniel's hands shook violently as he tore open the envelope right there in the middle of his office lobby.
The front page was a formal Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, citing irreconcilable differences and financial misconduct. Attached to it was an Emergency Notice to Quit, ordering Daniel to vacate the Highland Estates property within forty-eight hours, citing that the property was held exclusively in the Esme Voss Individual Trust.
Below that was a complete freeze on all joint lines of credit, effectively cutting off his access to the fifty-thousand-dollar emergency card he had secretly been using to buy designer shoes and bar tabs.
"No... no, no, no!" Daniel gasped out loud, pulling out his phone and frantically dialing my cell.
It went straight to voicemail.
"Hi, you've reached Dr. Esme Voss. I am currently in surgery and unavailable. If this is a medical emergency, please call the main desk."
He slammed his phone against his leg, panicked tears finally brimming in his eyes.
He ran to his desk on the fourth floor, throwing the legal documents down onto his desk, and called his mother.
"Mom!" Daniel sobbed into the receiver the moment Brenda picked up. "She served me! Esme served me with divorce papers at my office!"
"WHAT?!" Brenda shrieked through the speaker so loudly his cubicle neighbor looked over. "That ungrateful little viper! How dare she! Don't worry, Daniel! We will sue her for everything she has! You are entitled to half her fortune! Half her salary! Half that mansion!"
"Mom, you don't understand!" Daniel wept, sinking into his office chair. "I read the papers! The house belongs to her private trust! The prenup I signed four years ago says I get NOTHING if we divorce! She blocked my credit cards! I have eighty dollars left!"
There was a long, suffocating silence on the other end of the line.
Brenda's tone instantly shifted from outraged screaming to cold, creeping terror.
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"What... what do you mean, nothing?" Brenda whispered. "What about the five thousand dollars for Megan's twins?!"
"THERE IS NO FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, MOM!" Daniel screamed into the phone, losing his mind completely. "IT WAS HER MONEY! IT WAS ALWAYS HER MONEY! WE HAVE NOTHING!"
