My Fire Captain Husband Locked Me In To Attend Her Birthday Chapter 09

My Fire Captain Husband Locked Me In To Attend Her Birthday Chapter 09

The divorce hearing came two weeks later.

Millbrook Civil Court drew a crowd.

Lenore and I stepped out of the car just as Dominic was escorted up the side entrance by two officers. He wasn’t in uniform, just a dark jacket, thinner than I’d ever seen him, unshaven, hollowed out. He looked like he’d aged a decade.

The man who once walked like a fire captain could barely lift his head.

His mother, Lydia Vance came surging toward me, eyes wild and red. “Willa! Are you happy now? You’ve destroyed Dominic!”

Lenore stepped in front of me. “This is a courthouse.”

Lydia kept shrieking. “Every marriage has problems! You couldn’t give him one more chance?”

I looked at her. My voice came out flat.

“A mistake? He locked me in a burning house. He told the fire department not to rescue me. When I called 911, he personally got on the line and said I was crazy. That’s a mistake? I jumped out a second-story window. I lost my baby. That’s a mistake?”

Lydia’s mouth trembled, still trying to form words.

I kept going. “He didn’t set the fire. But he locked the door. He didn’t push me out the window. But he blocked every rescue. He didn’t put his hands on my stomach and kill the baby. But his

choices did.”

The silence around us was absolute.

A bailiff stepped forward and guided Lydia away.

Inside, Lenore submitted the evidence piece by piece.

The 911 recordings. The callback tape. The department group chat logs. The CAD flags. Hospital records. Miscarriage documentation. Injury assessments. Domestic violence footage. HOA security

recordings. The burglar’s sworn statement. Tessa’s voiceprint analysis and the pawn shop stills.

The courtroom was so quiet you could hear pages turning.

The judge looked at the defense table. “Mr. Vance. Do you contest any of the facts as stated by

the petitioner?”

Dominic sat with his head bowed. The silence stretched.

“No.”

“Do you acknowledge that prior to the incident you used your professional position to issue improper directives to on-duty personnel?”

“I do.”

“Do you

acknowledge that your actions directly resulted in delayed emergency response,

severe injury, and pregnancy loss for the petitioner?”

His hands clenched in his lap until the knuckles blanched. “I do.”

“Do you consent to the dissolution of this marriage?”

That one took longer.

The judge repeated it. “Mr. Vance. Please answer the question.”

Dominic lifted his head slowly and looked at me. My face was stone.

He dropped his gaze. “Yes.”

The judge continued. “The petitioner seeks damages for marital fault, pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, ongoing rehabilitation, and pregnancy loss, totaling eighty-six thousand dollars. Do you contest this amount?”

“No.”

“Regarding the marital home and asset division, do you contest the petitioner’s motion for property and financial preservation?”

“No.”

He said almost nothing else for the rest of the session.

No objection.

In the gallery, Lydia Vance was crying so hard she could barely stand. Nobody felt sorry for her.