"You startled me! For a second, I thought someone had broken into your house." Vince hadn''t expected the man in front of him to understand signnguage.


    Just then, The Zimmerman Group''s chief legal counsel, Mr. Marquis, walked in.


    "Mr. Zimmerman, good afternoon."


    "Marquis, please,e in."


    Vince gestured for Marquis to step inside.


    Hearing Vince address the neer as awyer, Herbert couldn''t help ncing at Jessica.


    Jessica pressed her lips together, a little embarrassed. She hadn''t asked Herbert for help—instead, she''d had Vince find her an attorney. Who would''ve thought they''d bump into each other like this?


    Herbert had already told her he wasn''t afraid of Timothy, but she''d gone to someone else anyway. He was bound to misunderstand, to think she didn''t trust him. For a man, that sort of thing stings the ego.


    But Mrs. Reynolds had shown up in person that day and exined everything. Jessica couldn''t let her own problems drive a wedge between Herbert and his family—or worse, drag The Wheeler Group, who had nothing to do with her, into the mess.


    When Jessica nced at Herbert, his expression was clearly a little sour.


    Thankfully, Marquis and Vince couldn''t read signnguage. She signed to Herbert: "Let me speak with thewyer first, then I''ll exin everything, okay?"


    Herbert pressed his lips together and nodded.


    Vince didn''t know Herbert, but he could tell-man to man-that there was nothing ordinary about Herbert''s attitude toward Jessica.


    He asked Jessica politely, "May I ask who he is?"


    Herbert noticed the notepad and pen in front of Jessica, realizing just how much effort it took for her to


    el.n.


    Oh, childhood friend, huh? That would exin the special connection.


    "Wheeler," Herbert added, then continued, "I happened to be in the area, so


    there''s no need for Jessy to write everything down. I can interpret for her. You can begin whenever you''re ready."


    Vince had already briefed Marquis on Jessica''s situation, but there were some details that still needed rification.


    "Ms. Greene, here''s the situation: if one party files for divorce and the other refuses, the court generally won''t grant a divorce on the first attempt-unless you can provide evidence of things like bigamy, living with another partner, domestic violence, abandonment, gambling, substance abuse, or simr repeated misconduct. Other grounds include being separated for over two years, disappearance, or any proof that the marriage haspletely broken down. Ms. Greene, has your husband engaged in any of these behaviors?"


    Vince had already told Marquis not to mention Timothy''s name in front of Jessica,


    just in case it upset her.


    "What about emotional infidelity? Does that count?"


    Jessica signed the question, and Herbert voiced it for her.


    Marquis replied, "Generally speaking, no. But if it has seriously damaged the


    marriage, it could be considered evidence of an affair."


    In truth, Jessica hadn''t wanted to bring up Timothy and She''s rtionship in the divorce proceedings-it made her feel petty, as if she were jealous of She.


    Vince understood what she was getting at. Her question made it clear she suspected something


    between Timothy and She. H


    leaned in close to Jessica and whispered, "Jessy, She and Timothy are rted. Even if you can show he gave her gifts opacted overly familiar, it''ll probably be dismissed as normal between rtives."


    Watching Vince whisper so openly to Little Mute, Herbert was fuming.


    Jessica''s anxiety about the divorce showed in her urgent signing: "If none of those


    things Marquis mentioned apply, does that mean I can''t win the case?"