“Will you, though? My client has enough documentation to prove she is down to her last penny in her savings, has taken on credit card debts to make ends meet. Now, we could go after Mr. Efron for back pay of alimony and request him to assume half of her debt. Which, I'm not going to go into detail but… Would be a rather large amount,” Dane retorts.
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumble. Just as I’m about to ask for the papers to sign, another voice chimes in.
“Yes, let’s,” Hanna interjects. “While not everyone at this table has apparently been doing their homework, I certainly have. There’s a lot of money on the table that we are discussing, but did any of you know that it only cost about fifteen-hundred bucks to hire a private investigator for a week?” My sister’s voice is chirpy and sweet, yet layered with bitterness. She then presents a folder of her own, clasping her hands over it as though to guard it. “What I have here is Eliza’s real employment information. And I have to say, Eliza… I’m very impressed to hear that you work at Kline & Kline! That’s so prestigious. It’s the conglomerate company that owns your law firm, isn’t it, Dane? Even their lowest paid clerk makes above the median salary for the city. Which would be… oh? About thirty thousand dollars off what you have reported on these tax documents?”
Hanna makes a tutting noise before sitting back in her chair. “I would absolutely hate to report this to the IRS. But seeing as how this will now affect my income, I guess I just don’t have a choice.”
“What sort of proof could you possibly have of that?” Dane huffs, his face turning red. I’m not sure if it’s from embarrassment or rage.
Hanna opens the folder and slides a stack of papers and pictures across the table. “Pictures of Eliza going in and out of the Kline & Kline headquarters at the start of, and end of, business hours. Emails with her name and phone number on them, and memos with her signature. And I’m sure if we legally requested her employment status, their legal department would happily oblige. Looks like she’s an assistant for one of the CFOs. Very impressive, Eliza. How many times did you have to fuck him for a position like that?”
“Bitch!” Eliza screams, jumping to her feet. “You always play little savior, don’t you? Always got in the way of our marriage and played little games. Absolutely conniving.” Her wild eyes then turn to me, a finger jabbing in my direction as she talks. “I don’t even care about the goddamn money. This is just to try and make you suffer. You were my everything and you left me. Turned into a husk of a person—and I say person purposefully. Nothing of what you are when you left could surmount to a man.”
Hanna is on her feet then, her arms still folded as she smiles at Eliza. “Sure, Liz, he was a husk of a person. That’s what losing people you love can do to you. Though, clearly you don’t relate to that, seeing as how losing him apparently turned you from a codependent nightmare into a raging, conniving dick.”
Eliza’s screaming is unintelligible now and Dane is forced to grab her to hold her back as she tries to lunge across the table. “We’ll be withdrawing our request for alimony,” he calls to us over the shrieking.
I should feel relieved, but there’s a pit in my chest. Have I driven Eliza to this point, or has this side of her always been there, but it just never showed itself? Guilt eats away at me and I start contemplating a stiff pour of bourbon when I get home. Getting to my feet once the screaming is finally out of the distance, I take a deep breath and look to Hanna. “Thank you for handling this I really—”
“Save it,” Hanna bites, glaring hard at me. Now it’s her pointing a finger at me. “You have to get your head out of your ass. You almost cost us a portion of our business, and a good chunk of your own money, all because you’ve been moping around for weeks. No, years. Enough it enough.”
“You’re right,” I mutter, my shoulders slumping.
“I know,” Hanna grumbles and puts a hand on her forehead as she tries to collect herself. “Listen… Maybe everyone has a role to play in this mess, but the only role I should have played was a voice of reason. I should have made you take time off years ago so you could have time to think and sort your shit out instead of wallow with distracts like you have been. I’ll play that part now. I don’t want to see you back at the shop until you have a new lease on life. Got it?”