Barely three days after our wedding, my husband sent the dining table flying with one brutal k:ick because lunch was served a little late. Then he shouted, “A woman has to be hit before she learns her place!” I couldn't help laughing. I looked him straight in the eye and replied, “In that case... the gloves are off.”

By midnight, the garage incident had set off a domino effect that Gregory could no longer stop.

Joey was taken away in an ambulance under police custody, immediately singing like a canary to detectives about Gregory’s illegal gambling operation and extortion plot in exchange for a lighter sentence.

When the police arrived at my condo to take my official statement, my attorney, Eleanor Vance, was already sitting at my kitchen table with a stack of formal court filings.

"He's trapped, Clara," Eleanor said, handing me a glass of water. "The attempted extortion charge alone guarantees he won't get bail. But we aren't stopping there."

"What about his mother?" I asked. "Patricia was involved in the loan forgery."

"We sub-poenaed her bank accounts three hours ago," Eleanor replied, a victorious smile touching her lips. "It turns out Patricia wasn't just defending her son out of motherly love. She was using Gregory's offshore accounts to launder money from her boutique clothing business to evade state taxes."

The next morning, news of the scandal broke across local business journals. Prominent Corporate Analyst Uncovers Multi-Million Dollar Gambling and Fraud Ring Involving New Husband.

Gregory’s employer fired him publicly before he even had his bail hearing. His mother’s business was raided by state tax investigators by noon.

Sitting in my clean, quiet condo, I looked at the spot where my dining table used to stand. A brand-new, hand-crafted dark walnut table was being delivered later that afternoon.

My phone rang. It was an incoming collect call from the county jail.

I picked it up and pressed accept.

"Clara..." Gregory’s voice sounded broken, stripped of every ounce of arrogance. "Please... talk to your lawyer. Tell them it was all a mistake. They're charging me with grand larceny, conspiracy, and extortion. I'm facing fifteen years!"

"You wanted to teach me a lesson about a wife's place, Gregory," I said calmly, looking out the window at the sunny city skyline. "Did you forget?"

"I was stupid! I was desperate!" he sobbed into the receiver. "I'll sign the annulment! I'll never contact you again! Just drop the criminal complaints!"

"A stubborn husband needs to be properly disciplined before he learns to obey," I quoted softly, using his own words from three nights ago. "Isn't that what you said?"