The holding facility at the central precinct smelled of stale coffee and industrial bleach. Richard sat behind a scratched acrylic window in a blue orange jumpsuit, his hair uncombed and his eyes bloodshot from a night without sleep.
Richard: You came to post my bail? Thank God, Claire. Get me out of here! The people in here are insane!
Claire sat down on the metal stool on the other side of the glass, picking up the small grey phone receiver.
Claire: I didn't come to post your bail, Richard. The judge denied bail anyway due to the flight risk and the violence of the assault.
Richard slammed his hand against the glass, making the guard in the corner step forward threateningly.
Richard: You bitch! You framed me! You planned this whole thing!
Claire: I didn't force you to pick up that plate, Richard. That was all you. Your anger, your entitlement, your belief that you could hit me and I would just cry and hide like I used to.
Richard: I lost my temper! It was a mistake! We can fix this! Tell the DA you exaggerated!
Claire: I didn't exaggerate anything. The video was very clear. The grand jury is reviewing the tape right now.
Richard: What about my mother? Where is she? Why isn't my lawyer answering my calls?
Claire: Your mother was evicted from the estate this morning. She's staying at a small motel near the highway. And your lawyer dropped you as a client twenty minutes ago when the SEC opened an investigation into your offshore wire transfers.
Richard froze, his eyes widening in pure horror as the realization hit him.
Richard: The SEC? How do they know about Macau?
Claire: I gave them the bank logs. Along with the signed confession you made your assistant draft three months ago.
Richard: That was private! You stole my private files!
Claire: You left them on the home server, Richard. The same home server you tried to force me to pay off with my father's trust fund.
Richard: Claire, please... we were married for three years. You loved me once!
Claire: I loved the man I thought you were. But that man never existed. You were just a coward hiding behind your father's name and your mother's money.
Richard: I'll give you the divorce! You can have everything! Just drop the criminal charges!
Claire: I don't need you to give me the divorce, Richard. The judge is signing the final decree based on extreme cruelty and felony conviction. And as for the company... I'm the new CEO.
Richard stared at her, his voice dropping to a desperate, trembling whisper.
Richard: You... you took my company?
Claire: It was never your company. It was your father's, and he mortgaged it to mine. Now it belongs to me.
Richard: You ruined my entire life because of one plate?
Claire: No, Richard. You ruined your life the moment you put your hands on me. The plate just made it easy for everyone else to see what you really are.
Claire hung up the phone receiver, stood up, and adjusted her jacket. She turned her back on him and walked toward the exit without looking back once.
Richard: Claire! CLAIRE! Come back here! You can't leave me here!