The proceedings began with Victoria''s attorneyying out the grounds for divorce.


    The most damning usation was that her husband had neglected his family and maintained an affair with another woman.


    Maynard stayed silent. He had assumed Mrs. Langford was merely bluffing, trying to scare Mr. Langford into submission. After all, Mr. Langford had bought his wife''spany only to gift it to Ms. Marchand-naturally, his wife would be furious.


    But Maynard hadn''t expected Victoria to go straight for the jugr, exposing McNeil''s involvement with Violet without the slightest hesitation or mercy.


    The opposing attorney presented a mountain of evidence, and formally requested the judge to freeze all marital assets effective immediately. Furthermore, they demanded that everything McNeil had given to Violet during the marriage be returned to Victoria byw.


    This included the house on Winding Peak Lane, along with every piece of jewelry and valuable item McNeil had purchased under his own name over the years.


    Maynard and McNeil''swyer could only watch in disbelief as two court officers wheeled in over twenty pounds of printed documents-meticulously itemized records of every gift McNeil had ever given Violet since marrying Victoria.


    From luxury homes down to a single nail clipper, nothing was left unounted for.


    Everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, was stunned. Between them, they handled thousands of divorce cases every year, but none had ever seen someone as thorough as Mrs. Langford. The level of detail in her documentation was staggering.


    The rows and rows of data made even the court''s verification officer break out in a cold sweat.


    If they were expected to verify every item one by one, it could take months- maybe even years-to track everything down.


    To make matters worse, the evidence showed that McNeil''s gifts to Violet hadn''t been a one-timepse; they spanned the entire six years of his marriage to Victoria. Now, demanding that the mistress return every single item was simply impossible.


    But Victoria''s records were soprehensive that thew left no wiggle room. ording to the statutes, any property a husband gives another woman during his marriage is considered uwfully transferred.


    All such items must be returned to their rightful owner; anything missing must be reimbursed, down to thest cent.


    At this point, McNeil''s attorney had nothing left to fight with. He could only lean over and whisper with Maynard.


    Finally, McNeil''s legal representative stood and addressed the court.


    "Your Honor, my client is not present today. I am unable to confirm or deny any of Mrs. Langford''s usations on his behalf. I respectfully request a recess so I can locate my client and confer with him before we continue."


    The judge, clearly exasperated, looked to Victoria for her thoughts.


    Victoria replied coolly, "I agree to a temporary recess. However, I hope Your


    Honor will immediately begin proceedings to recover all the valuables and assets


    my husband gave away-especially the jewelry and expensive gifts."


    She was remarkably polite, but her meaning was clear: she wanted everything back from Violet.


    The judge nodded. "That is required byw. The court will act at once."


    When Victoria walked out of the courthouse, she was astonishinglyposed. She didn''t look like someone who''d juste out of an exhausting legal battle- more like someone returning from a pleasant afternoon at her grandmother''s house, perfectly at ease.


    Johnny, one of Starfall City''s top ten attorneys, had handled countless cases over the years, but never one as straightforward as this. In fact, Victoria''s preparation was so impable that it almost felt like an insult to his reputation. With a case this watertight, she could have won with a freshw graduate at her side, let alone a star attorney.


    Yasmine slid into the car next to Victoria, her face glowing with excitement.


    Behind them, the courthouse car followed close behind.