PART 1
“You broke your leg, not your hands. Order an Uber and come serve the food,” Austin’s voice boomed through the phone’s speakerphone as I lay on a gurney at Saint Jude General Hospital in San Diego. My right leg was completely immobilized, I had eight stitches in my calf, and there was still dried blood on my ankle because a driver had hit me while I was crossing Grand Avenue. My cell phone had vibrated fifty-two times before I finally agreed to answer it.
“I am in the emergency room,” I repeated into the phone while wincing from the pain. “I have a severe fracture.”
Austin let out a cold, mocking laugh that cut right through me. “Today is the gathering after my dad’s funeral, the house is full of relatives, and my mom hasn’t eaten a single thing. You were supposed to cook everything, so do not make a huge deal out of a broken leg.”
The doctor stopped stitching my leg for a second, and the nurse looked at me with a mixture of deep indignation and pity. I no longer felt any shame because after three years of marriage, that heartless phone call only finished breaking something inside me that had been cracking for far too long.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “From today on, I will no longer cook for your mother, nor will I serve your family, and I will no longer be your wife because I am going to file for divorce.”
I hung up immediately before he could insult me again.
Thirty minutes later, two police officers arrived at my hospital room because Austin had reported my disappearance and claimed I had abandoned an elderly woman during a severe family emergency. I calmly showed the officers my accident report, the X-rays of my leg, and my call log.
“I did not disappear at all,” I told the officers firmly. “I am hospitalized, and my husband knew exactly where I was, yet he still gave false information to law enforcement.”
The doctor stepped forward and confirmed that I was completely unable to walk. When the officers called Austin back from an official department number, his tone changed instantly.
“I honestly didn’t know she was really hurt that badly,” Austin stammered over the line.
“You did not know because you never bothered to ask,” I replied directly to him.
Austin completely lost control and began to yell over the line that if I divorced him, the penthouse in La Jolla, the luxury SUV, and the 1.2 million dollars in our joint bank account would stay entirely with him.
“You are going to leave with your leg broken and without a single penny,” he spat angrily.
“You are completely wrong,” I replied without hesitation. “I am not leaving your house, but rather I am withdrawing my assets from your life, and the first asset is myself.”
As soon as the police officers left, I requested copies of my complete medical record and made four urgent calls. I called the bank, the notary, my best friend Megan, and my legal counsel, Attorney Cynthia Strickland. My fourth call was to Jonathan Solomon, the CEO of Pinnacle Global Group.
“Jonathan, I need the complete employment file of Austin Parker, the regional director at Apex Logistics, and I also want an immediate surprise audit of his office that looks like a routine check,” I instructed.
“Do you wish to reveal your true identity, Madam Chairwoman?” Jonathan asked carefully.
I looked down at the heavy plaster cast on my leg. “Not quite yet.”
Fifteen minutes later, Austin entered my hospital room accompanied by his mother, Christina, but neither of them bothered to ask how I was feeling. Christina immediately called me a useless freeloader, while Austin bragged that he earned 180,000 dollars a month and claimed that without his salary, I wouldn’t even have enough money to eat.
When Megan and Attorney Cynthia Strickland arrived, Cynthia placed her business card on the bedside table and firmly announced that any matters concerning divorce, property division, or harassment would be handled strictly through her office. Austin scoffed loudly at her declaration.
“You do not even have a permanent job, while I am the regional director of a massive corporation,” Austin sneered at me. “If you try to challenge me, you are going to lose everything.”
I looked at him with absolute composure. “Then hold on tight to your chair, because a massive storm is coming your way.”
Austin smiled smugly, completely convinced that my warnings were useless, because neither he nor his mother could have ever imagined what was about to happen next.
