Chapter 6 - The Exit Plan
Harrison opened the folder.
Khloe wished he hadn’t.
Inside was her future.
Or at least Richard’s version of it.
Draft divorce papers.
Private investigator reports.
Photos of Khloe entering therapy after her second miscarriage.
Medical records.
A proposed custody strategy.
Harrison’s jaw tightened.
Khloe read the first page.
“Emotionally unstable spouse…”
She stopped.
Harrison reached for the file.
“Don’t.”
“I want to see.”
“You don’t need to.”
“I said I want to see.”
She kept reading.
Richard planned to portray her as mentally unstable.
Dependent.
Obsessive.
A danger to their child.
There were notes about witnesses.
Household staff.
Former nurses.
Even a psychiatrist Khloe had never met.
At the bottom of one memo:
Emergency custody request immediately after delivery.
Khloe whispered, “He wants my baby.”
Harrison said nothing.
“He was going to leave me and take her?”
“We won’t let that happen.”
“He wrote that I was suicidal.”
“I know.”
“I was grieving.”
“I know.”
“He watched me lose two babies, and he turned it into evidence.”
Harrison closed the laptop.
“That’s enough.”
Khloe began to cry.
Not loudly.
That made it worse.
“He hates me.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“He does.”
Harrison shook his head.
“Men like Richard don’t hate people. They use people. When people stop being useful, they rewrite the story.”
Khloe wiped her face.
“So what do we do?”
“We rewrite it first.”
Within forty-eight hours, Harrison secured copies of every document.
He contacted federal investigators.
Quietly.
He filed motions under seal.
Quietly.
He arranged for Khloe’s financial interests to be protected.
Quietly.
Richard noticed nothing.
Vanessa became impatient.
She started calling Khloe.
The first time, Khloe ignored her.
The second time, Vanessa left a voicemail.
“Stop making this harder than it has to be.”
Khloe replayed it twice.
Then called back.
Vanessa answered immediately.
“You finally found your voice.”
Khloe said, “You’re sleeping with my husband.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Your husband stopped being yours a long time ago.”
“You’re pregnant?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“How far?”
“Four months.”
Khloe closed her eyes.
Richard had been planning two nurseries.
Two futures.
Two women.
“You think he loves you?”
“He chose me.”
“No. He hid you.”
Vanessa’s voice sharpened.
“He’s leaving you.”
“Then why hasn’t he?”
Silence.
Khloe pressed harder.
“Because he needs something from me first.”
Vanessa hung up.
Ten minutes later, Richard called.
“What did you say to Vanessa?”
Khloe smiled for the first time all day.
So Vanessa had panicked.
“Ask your girlfriend.”
Richard went silent.
May you like
Then he said something that chilled her.
“Be very careful, Khloe.”
