Chapter 5 - The Digital Guillotine
A week passed. The burn on Skylar’s face was healing into an ugly, dark red scar, a permanent physical reminder of the man she had married. But as the skin knit itself back together, so did her spirit. She moved back into her apartment, had the locks changed, and hired a trauma cleaner to completely sanitize the kitchen.
Derek, meanwhile, was spiraling. Living on Suzanne’s cramped couch and eating instant ramen, his arrogance had morphed into desperation.
He decided his best strategy was to control the narrative. If he could ruin Skylar’s reputation, maybe he could force her to drop the charges out of shame. He began calling their mutual friends, colleagues, and even Skylar’s boss. He spun a sob story about how the pressure of her job had driven her insane, how she had burned herself in a manic episode, and how she was using the legal system to punish him for trying to get her psychiatric help.
Some people believed him. A few mutual friends blocked Skylar on social media.
Evelyn, Skylar's lawyer, heard about the smear campaign and called an emergency mediation session before the criminal trial began. Derek agreed to attend, convinced his silver tongue would easily manipulate the mediator and force Skylar to surrender.
They met in a sterile, glass-walled conference room at Evelyn’s law firm.
Derek walked in wearing a perfectly tailored suit, though he looked haggard up close. He sat across from Skylar and immediately put on a face of deep, tragic sorrow.
“Skylar, sweetheart,” he murmured, leaning forward. “Look what you’ve done to yourself. Please, let’s end this madness. Drop the charges, unlock the accounts, and we can get you the help you need. I forgive you for lying.”
Skylar sat perfectly still. She looked at his crisp blue shirt and remembered the reflection in the dark kitchen window. She felt the phantom heat of the coffee on her neck.
“My client is not here to negotiate a reconciliation,” Evelyn stated coldly. “We are here to present our settlement terms regarding the division of assets, and to advise you to stop your defamatory campaign against Ms. Bennett.”
Derek scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “Defamatory? I’m telling the truth. She’s unstable. She spilled that coffee on herself to frame me because I asked her to help my sister. No judge is going to believe her word against mine. I have a spotless record. She has a history of 'stress' at work.”
The mediator, a neutral third party, frowned slightly, taking notes.
Skylar reached into her bag. She didn’t look angry. She looked utterly detached.
She pulled out her laptop, opened it, and turned the volume to maximum.
“I didn’t just spill the coffee, Derek,” Skylar said softly. “And it’s not just my word against yours.”
She pressed play.
The silence of the conference room was shattered by Derek’s own voice.
“Suzanne says she needs your card because one of her payments got stuck.”
The mediator stopped writing. Derek’s confident smirk froze.
They heard Skylar’s quiet, firm refusal. Then, the horrific sounds followed: the loud argument, the sudden, violent smack of the ceramic cup hitting flesh, the explosive shattering against the wall, and Skylar’s agonizing, breathless scream.
But the most damning part was the chilling calmness of Derek’s voice immediately after.
“You see what you made me do?”
The audio continued.
“You should have listened the first time... You either learn to respect my family, or you leave my house.”
Skylar stopped the recording. She closed the laptop.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The mediator was staring at Derek with open disgust. Evelyn looked triumphant.
Derek’s mouth opened and closed like a fish suffocating on dry land. His tailored suit suddenly felt like a straitjacket. The digital guillotine had just dropped, and his carefully constructed reality was severed at the neck.
May you like
“As you can see,” Evelyn said, breaking the silence, “we have irrefutable proof of aggravated domestic battery. The police already have a copy. If you do not sign this asset forfeiture agreement immediately and publicly retract every lie you’ve told, we will not only let the criminal courts bury you, but we will sue you for civil damages until you are entirely bankrupt.”
Derek picked up the pen. His hands were shaking just as violently as Skylar’s had that morning in the kitchen.
