“How is Ethan’s legal team responding?” Emily asked.

“They aren’t,” Sarah said.

“Ethan is currently in a federal holding cell.”

“His defense attorneys are trying to figure out how to keep him out of prison.”

“They don’t have time to contest a divorce.”

Sarah placed a pen in Emily’s hand.

The blue ink felt cold against my daughter’s skin.

She looked at me, her eyes seeking confirmation.

I gave her a firm nod.

“Sign it, Em,” I said.

“This is the line in the sand.”

She pressed the pen to the paper.

Her hand was steady as she wrote her name.

“Emily Hart,” she wrote.

She left off the Prescott name entirely.

I watched her sign the final page and felt a weight lift from my chest.

Sarah took the papers and slid them back into her briefcase.

“I’ll have these filed with the court by noon,” she said.

“You are officially a free woman, Emily.”

Two weeks later, Emily was discharged from Mercy General.

I brought her to my quarters at Fort Liberty.

The military police at the gate kept the press and the Prescott private investigators away.