4. Chapter Four | Savannah #2
Oh Shane, you foolish, foolish man. lol! You have no idea what you just brought on yourself. I’ve been playing nice up until now. But hurting my girls? Nope.
Me
I consider that an act of war. Buckle up, baby.
Shane
What are you talking about?
Shane
What does that mean, Savannah ?
Shane
…Savannah?
Shane
Hello???
I’m leaving his dumbass on read and hoping my new attorney will tell me to block him all together.
I don’t know who I will hire yet, but I know my ex overlooked some very important details.
He may have frozen our assets, and I may not have immediate access to funds, but I do have access to the entire damn Callahan Cavalry.
He can give me shit settlement offers, he can try to walk away from us and dare not to fight for our girls, but the second he does something that intentionally impacts their lives negatively is the second all bets are off.
And my claws will come out.
I wait for the call to connect and smile knowing Shane just dug himself a serious grave of his own making. What a moron.
“Hey, Sav, what’s up?” My big brother Jack always answers my calls, regardless of if he’s in Nashville, New York City, or London.
“Hi, Jack. I have a problem and I need your help.” I don’t like asking for help and my siblings know that.
“Are you okay? What happened and what do you need?” Jack’s tone is no bullshit and I knew he was the right first call. He also is not one to ask for help, so he knows that if I’m outright asking for it, it’s a big deal.
“Shane is throwing a tantrum because I won’t let him steamroll this divorce.
We’ve been trying to mediate all of this with his firm, but this isn’t working.
I just discovered he froze all my bank accounts, cancelled the girls’ Netflix account and God knows what else, and is now threatening me with additional legal action. ”
Wherever Jack is, the background noise disappears as I hear him slam a door shut. “Excuse me? What the hell did you just say? You’re kidding me, right?” Jack went from problem solver to pissed off growling bear real quick.
“Other than the cash in my wallet, I don’t have access to any money, Jack. You know I hate to ask this, but I need help. I need to hire an attorney. I’m done going through mediation with his firm. I want a lion in court that will attack and destroy him.”
“I’m not getting you a lion.” Shit, that’s not what I expected him to say.
“I’m getting you a fucking army.” Oh, okay, that’s what I expected him to say.
A relieved sigh escapes and my shoulders relax for the first time in what feels like weeks.
“Savannah, how exactly did he think this was going to turn out? You would just roll over and let him run the show? Did he forget who you are? You are Savannah Callahan. You have our entire family behind you, and the net worth of The Cavalry makes him look like a hobo on the street. Idiot.” The Cavalry refers to our sibling group: Jack, Liam, me, Ryan, Finn, and Vivian.
The nickname came from Mama, and she hoped if any of us ever needed something, that each of us would always come running for one another.
I pull my phone back and put it on speaker as our sibling group chat explodes.
Jack
Shane’s an asshole. Froze Sav’s bank account, cut off the girls from Netflix. I’ll fix the money part, but Liam, I think this counts as permission for us to get involved.
When Shane initially dropped the divorce bomb last month, I asked my brothers to let me handle it.
I was trying to do everything I could to make it as painless as possible for our girls, and maybe there was a small part of me that hoped it was all a mistake and we would find a way back to each other.
I knew if The Cavalry got involved, everything would be burned to the ground and there would be no reconciliation, so I read them the riot act to back off—specifically two of my brothers, Jack and Liam.
They made me promise to let them know if I changed my mind, and in turn, they promised not to do anything until I gave them permission to do so.
Liam
On it. What a douchebag. You ok, Sav?
Finn
Release the hounds! I may not be a super-secret spy guy, but I’m more than happy to go punch him in the face. I know I’d feel better.
Ryan
Sav, check your email. I added you and the girls to my streaming services. But also would love to join Finn on his fun plan.
Me
Thanks guys. Yeah, I’m ok. I know I told you all to stay out of it, but I’m stuck if I can’t access my bank accounts. If y’all get arrested on my behalf, call Jack or Liam. I can’t bail you out.
“Shit! The girls’ tuition comes out in two days from that account!
” I realize if that payment bounces back, it not only will mess up the girls’ ability to attend Forrest Falls Academy, but it will also make them the talk of the school because nothing stays secret in a small town.
The last thing I want this divorce to do is touch their social lives any more than it already has.
“I will take care of that first thing in the morning, Savannah. Go ahead and make a list of anything that’s urgent that could bounce like that, okay?
I also want to know whatever expenses you need to cover in the next six months or so, just to be safe.
I’ll have my private banker set up a new account in your name alone in the morning.
I’ve already sent her a text, and we will get this all taken care of, I promise.
” I can hear Jack typing away in the background.
“Text me when you think of anything else you or the girls need, and I mean anything, okay?” I promise to make him a list and we disconnect as I receive more notifications from our sibling group chat.
Jack
I’ll handle any financial concerns. My attorney in New York is calling me back in fifteen, and we will hire the best damn legal team out there.
Liam
The Cavalry is going to handle him.
“Savannah?” Vivian calls out as she walks around the bend of the path between the main house and our guesthouse.
She and her daughter Eloise have been living there since they moved back to Forrest Falls last year after her husband was murdered.
I know she will be moving in with her boyfriend Walker sooner than later, and while I’m happy for her, I’m glad that day is not today.
“I saw your texts. What the hell was numb nuts thinking?” She sets the video monitor with Eloise sleeping on the screen on the table next to her as I explain to my sister everything that happened.
Jack
Asshole might have fired the first shot of the war, but he made the mistake of releasing The Cavalry.
Ryan
We ride at dawn!
Liam
Speak for yourself. I’m not waiting that long to put things in motion.
Finn
Since you aren’t going to explain what that means Captain Vague and Mysterious, what else can us mere mortals do, Sav?
“They may all be crazy but they’re the best.” Vivian reaches over and squeezes my arm. “I can’t believe he would mess with the girls like that. I thought he wanted them to come out unscathed from all of this, wasn’t that the whole idea of going through the mediator in the first place?”
“Yeah, well I think he also wanted to go through the mediator to try and control the outcome, and get it done as quick as possible so he could go have his freedom that he claims he needs so bad. Oh!” A loud laugh escapes me as I realize something. “Daddy’s going to flip a shit when he finds out!”
“Odds on how long Shane walks around without a black eye from a member of the Callahan family—and maybe even one from Murphy Callahan himself?” Vivian raises an eyebrow and a very valid point.
“After this little stunt? I’d guess less than seven days.” Even less than that if he steps foot in Forrest Falls.
“I’ll bet seventy-two hours, even if I have to do it myself.
Walker taught me how to throw a punch.” She smirks and I laugh because the idea of my sister, who is everything good and sweet in this world, punching someone is comical.
“What? I can do it. I’ll just channel my inner mama bear. ” She growls—well, attempts to, anyway.
“Well, first off, your shoulder is still healing from being shot, and second, if you were to get in any kind of physical altercation with a man, I suspect your man would bring down the full force of the FBI on that individual. Hmm. Maybe that’s not the worst idea, let’s hold onto that as plan B.
” I wink at her but not totally kidding.
When the FBI got involved in Vivian’s husband’s murder, it also brought a handsome FBI agent into her life, and they both fell pretty quick and hard for one another.
Walker is a great man, and I know he is a much better man than we assumed her first husband was.
He had us tricked—apparently, my sister and I had both made poor judgement when it came to the men we married.
But I don’t recognize this version of Shane; this is not the man I married.
I knew he could be ruthless in the courtroom, but he never was toward me. I guess things change.
Vivian and I talk through a few other logistical concerns with suddenly not having money, and as I think of additional financial needs, I send multiple texts to Jack.
Jack
Who do you want for an attorney? Is there someone you have in mind? Otherwise, if you really want to hit him hard, I can fly someone in from the firm I work with in New York. Daphne’s firm has some incredibly vicious litigators.
“Have you thought about that at all? Who will you hire if you aren’t using someone from Brown, Lewis, and Williams, which I’m assuming we are all officially declaring him and his firm persona non grata after this little stunt of his.
” My sister rolls her lips over her teeth contemplating something and hums before continuing, “You know, it’s okay if you want to hire someone from Chase’s firm.
There’s no bad blood between us, and honestly, I feel awful for his daddy and brothers and everything they’re dealing with in the wake of what happened.
” Chase Riley was Vivian’s high school sweetheart, and their breakup was mutual with the two of them on good terms for years.
Chase may not have personally harmed my sister, but it’s still hard to overlook everything that happened in the last year.
Some people may assume that our family hates the Riley family for everything that happened, but we all know where the blame belongs, and where it does not.
Daddy is still best friends with Chase's Uncle Frank, and Chase’s brother Max is one of Jack’s best friends and works for him.
In a town the size of Forrest Falls, it's hard to avoid anyone for too long anyway .
“Although, Chase may very well be too nice of a guy. I personally would love to see someone wipe the floor with Shane. He may be one of the highest paid white-collar criminal defense attorneys in the state, but divorce proceedings are a different kind of battle.” My sweet sister is out for blood—and I am here for it.
“You know, he made this personal when he put his selfish demands over our girls’ well-being, so I think it’s only fair that I return the favor.
” I tap my chin and my eyes narrow as a brilliant idea comes into focus.
I can’t help the cunning smile that spreads across my face.
“And I think I know exactly which pain point of his to push—and where I can find a really big stick to do just that.” I grab my phone to respond to Jack.
Me
I have an idea—and I think they will be perfect.
My soon-to-be ex-husband is going to be so pissed.
It’s a low blow and I know he will never see it coming.
It’s perfect.