The settlement papers arrived three days later. I signed them at Dana's office, and she sent them back to the Ashford family's lawyer. The terms were simple. They would pay me twenty thousand dollars, which covered the money that had been taken from the joint account plus my legal fees. They would drop the countersuit. They would issue a written apology. And they would stay away from me and my property for a minimum of five years.
I read the apology when it arrived. It was a single paragraph, typed on Ashford family letterhead, and it said all the right things. It said they were sorry for any distress they had caused. It said they had made a mistake in judgment. It said they respected my decision to end the relationship.
It was a terrible apology. It was full of passive voice and refused
