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I shoved the chair backward, pacing now. The bailiff moved in, watching me, ready.

“They’ve been plotting on me since day one,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone. “She got you believing he’s some hero, like he didn’t snatch my wife right out from under me.”

“Mr. Blackwell,” the judge said firmly. “One more outburst and I will hold you in contempt.”

I stood still, hands balled into fists at my side. I looked around—at the eyes on me, at Sam smirking in the corner. Zane’s parents were looking all smug. Zane’s hand curled around her stomach like I hadn’t once kissed that belly myself.

That was supposed to bemychild.

And that’s when I knew.

I’d already lost.

The judge cleared his throat. “We will reconvene next week for final filings. If Mr. Blackwell continues to delay this divorce, sanctions will be imposed. You are advised to sign the papers before that date.”

I sat back down slowly, vision blurred, throat tight.

Because this wasn’t a hearing anymore.

This was an execution.

And I’d put the gun in her hand.

But I wouldn’t die quietly.

Chapter 36- Sam

“This ain’t over, bitch!”

The words cracked through the air the second we stepped outside. Mark’s voice, full of ice, echoed off the courthouse steps.

“I didn’t marry you to have you divorce me!” he shouted, eyes wild, suit wrinkled as he walked in our direction.

Zane stiffened next to me, and I stepped in front of her before he could get in her face.

“Nah,” I growled, squaring up before I even thought about it. “But you sure as hell ’bout to get the fuck outta her life.”

Mark’s face twisted like he bit into something bitter. “Why are you even speaking to me about my wife?” he snapped, pointing. “You’re just some nobody construction worker playing family. You’re a nobody.”

I smiled. That slow, dangerous one that always came right before I did something reckless. “Better than you on your best day, bruh. You lost her, not me. Get the fuck on.”

The way his chest was puffed up, the way his jaw clenched like he was choking on his own pride—I could see he was ready to swing. I wanted him to, so I could beat his ass again. The adrenaline rushing through my veins had me ready to go.

“You wanna go again?” I stepped forward, my voice low, taunting. “Let’s finish what we started.”

People were watching. Phones were out. And I didn’t care.

Because fuck Mark. He was the only one with something left to lose. And I was ready to strip it from him—his job, his freedom, his life if he kept playing with me and mine.

“Back up!” a deputy shouted, rushing over just as we got chest to chest. Hands were suddenly on me, another officer grabbing Mark. “Let’s go! Separate!”

“You ain’t shit!” Mark roared as they dragged him back into the building. “You won’t keep her—she’s too goddamn expensive for you! You aren’t me. You think a paycheck-to-paycheck ass nobody can replace me?”

I yelled back, “Ain’t nobody tryna be a narcissistic motherfucker who can’t fuck his wife right! Bitch, I got money. And I’mma blow it on her.”

“Sam!” Zane’s voice cracked sharp in my ear.

I turned to her.