“You already took everything, Richard,” I said, looking at the empty slab of concrete. “But you didn’t get the land.”

“What are you talking about?” he demanded.

“The house is gone,” I said. “I had it removed today.”

There was a long, dead silence on the line.

“You’re lying,” he whispered.

“Ask the neighbors,” I said. “Or check the security cameras, if the power is still on.”

I heard him draw in a sharp breath.

“You crazy bitch,” he snarled.

“Have a nice trip, Richard,” I said, and hung up the phone.

My hands were shaking, but I felt a strange, quiet triumph.

I walked back to my car and sat inside, locking the doors.

The evening sky was turning a deep, bruised purple.

I opened the airline app again and looked at the flight schedule from Maui.

The kids were supposed to stay there for another five days.

But I knew Richard’s temper.

He would be furious, embarrassed, and completely focused on his frozen accounts.

I knew he would take it out on them, or make their trip a living hell.