Chapter 8 - The Choice Colleen Wouldn’t Undo
Colleen returned to her own condominium in Lisle.
She changed the locks even though Dana had never had a key.
Then she called the investigating detective and confirmed she was willing to cooperate if the county prosecutor pursued charges related to the assault and unlawful restraint.
It was not revenge.
It was the first decision she had made without asking what would keep Brett’s marriage intact.
Brett reacted badly.
Not angrily.
Fearfully.
“Once this moves forward, we can’t control where it goes.”
Colleen looked at him across her kitchen table.
“That is the point.”
“I’m not asking you to lie.”
“You’re asking me to make it smaller.”
“I’m asking you to think.”
“I have.”
He rubbed his forehead.
Colleen softened only slightly.
“Brett, you spent months trying to manage Dana’s reactions. Look where that got all of us.”
He left without arguing.
The next consequence arrived two days later.
Dana retained a lawyer and stopped speaking directly to Brett.
Through counsel, she requested access to household property and business records.
Brett hired his own attorney and was advised not to drain joint accounts, change ownership documents, or remove Dana’s belongings.
There would be no dramatic victory.
Only procedures.
Statements.
Temporary arrangements.
Bills.
Brett moved into an extended-stay hotel near his office.
Dana remained in the house.
Colleen hated that.
Then she reminded herself the house was not the point.
Safety was.
The storage unit became relevant when Brett’s attorney advised him not to investigate it himself.
Instead, he documented the payments and turned the information over to the forensic accountant assisting with the couple’s financial separation.
Three days later, Dana made her first move that looked like panic.
She canceled the storage account.
Not emptied it.
Canceled it.
The facility emailed her a thirty-day termination notice.
Because Brett was not the account holder, he could not access the unit.
But the timing mattered.
Dana had tolerated months of scrutiny over the business.
She had tolerated the credit-union inquiry.
She had tolerated the police report.
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The moment Brett discovered the storage payments, she acted.
Whatever was in that unit mattered more to her than the money.
