Silence stretched over the line for three seconds.

I could hear the faint sound of papers shuffling in her Austin office.

“How much?” Gloria asked.

“Three hundred and forty thousand dollars,” I said. “He left eighty-two dollars.”

“When did the transfers occur?”

“Over the last seventy-two hours,” I said. “I’m looking at the history now. Rome, Amalfi, and a wedding planner.”

I heard Gloria exhale slowly.

“He’s financing his new life with your marital assets,” she said.

“He’s using my children’s college fund to buy Valerie a destination wedding,” I said.

A hot, hard anger was rising in my throat, replacing the initial shock.

“Is the money gone from the jurisdiction?” Gloria asked.

“The wire transfers are marked as completed,” I said. “The Italian bank received them this morning.”

“That was incredibly foolish of him,” Gloria said, her tone shifting from concern to a cold, calculating satisfaction. “The court does not look kindly on a spouse depleting marital funds on the eve of a divorce, let alone for a mistress.”

“That doesn’t help me pay Nathan right now,” I said. “The crew is waiting. If I don’t pay the second installment, the trucks stop.”