Franklin sat there in silence, digesting Frederick's words one heavy drop at a time. His mind drifted back unwillingly to the look in Cassie's eyes during their encounter.
Those tears weren't fake. Sebastian's immediate defense, Evan's subtle disappointment… It all rolled through Franklin's mind like pieces of a puzzle he suddenly wasn't sure he understood.
Could there truly be something different about her?
"Calm down," Franklin muttered, forcing some logic back into the conversation. "How many days since the divorce, anyway?"
"Just yesterday," Frederick replied, voice low and strained. "I gave her nothing, Frank. And she took nothing. Not a bracelet. Not a shoe. She has access to the safe, and she still left with nothing. Nothing.
Franklin paused. That didn't fit the nar
