Chapter 14 - THE DIVORCE
Claire filed for divorce.
Ethan did not contest the marriage was broken.
He fought over one thing:
the house.
Joint title.
Joint equity.
Ordinary marital asset.
Claire initially wanted the entire property because the locked room made it feel contaminated.
Grace asked:
“Do you want the house or do you want him punished?”
Claire thought.
“The second.”
“Then don’t confuse them.”
They sold it.
The house sale became contentious because Ethan initially wanted to buy Claire out.
He said:
“I can keep the property and you never have to see it again.”
Claire almost agreed.
Then she realized the house would remain Ethan’s preserved version of their marriage.
Same hallway.
Same room.
Same archive history.
She did not want ownership.
She did not want him to have symbolic ownership either.
That was not a legal argument.
Grace told her so.
Claire laughed.
“Then sell it because I want liquidity.”
That was legal enough.
Ethan eventually agreed because refinancing alone would have been expensive.
The sale was ordinary.
Open house.
Inspection.
Roof credit.
Two offers.
One buyer.
The most psychologically loaded house in Claire’s life ended as a real-estate transaction with a radon test.
Equity divided according to settlement.
The locked room was emptied under supervised inventory.
Claire kept her personal items.
The scarf.
Bracelet.
Notebook.
Old USB drive.
She destroyed nothing until litigation ended.
Then she burned nothing either.
Too theatrical.
She threw ordinary trash away as ordinary trash.
Some files went to counsel storage.
Some evidence to court.
Some personal papers to Claire.
The room disappeared through boxes and shredding schedules.
May you like
That felt appropriate.
Obsession ended administratively.
