Chapter 7
Derek pulled out his electronic key fob.
It was almost comical.
After everything, he reached for technology like a king reaching for a seal.
He pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
He pressed again.
The tiny light flashed once, then failed.
Officer Price watched his hand.
Suzanne stepped closer.
“Why isn’t it working?”
Derek ignored her and pressed again.
Still nothing.
The apartment door remained silent.
The private elevator access remained disabled.
The smart lock system no longer recognized him.
His face tightened with each failed attempt.
“Skylar.”
I stood beside the table, one hand resting lightly on the medical folder.
“Yes?”
“What did you do?”
“I updated access.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I did.”
“This is marital property.”
“It is not.”
Suzanne laughed sharply, but it came out nervous.
“Derek, tell her.”
He did not.
Because now he was remembering.
The documents he never cared to read because he assumed love meant access.
The prenup he mocked but signed.
The property structure he called “unromantic.”
The business assets he used but never owned.
The apartment purchased before marriage through my company’s housing trust.
The furniture bought with my accounts.
The art insured under my name.
The car service he used through my corporate contract.
The card he demanded.
The card that started it.
His confidence had always depended on not understanding the paperwork.
Now the paperwork understood him perfectly.
Officer Miller said, “Mr. Hayes, you are here only because Ms. Hayes allowed officers to accompany her for a supervised retrieval and notice.”
Derek’s eyes flicked toward me.
“Notice?”
I looked at the ring.
Then the keys.
Then him.
“Yes.”
Not divorce settlement.
Not final legal outcome.
Not everything.
Just enough.
“You no longer have permission to access this apartment without written arrangement.”
Suzanne’s face went pale.
Derek stared at me like I had changed languages.
No.
May you like
I had finally started speaking in one he could not interrupt.
Read the full story 👉 Derek’s failed key fob revealed that Skylar had quietly changed the one thing he thought gave him power: access.
