“Danny, your little doormat is doing something behind your back!” she hissed. “I saw a bank notification. There was a huge transfer. She’s definitely planning to rob you!”
A minute later, Daniel stormed into the bedroom.
I was folding clothes.
My clothes.
The few things I had bought before our so-called family business began swallowing every part of our lives.
“What are you plotting, you little viper?” he demanded.
His hand clamped around my arm above the elbow.
Pain shot through me, and I cried out despite myself.
By tomorrow, a dark bruise would almost certainly bloom there.
“What transfers? What money? You’re nobody here! You’re nothing! You’re dust beneath my shoes, do you understand?”
I looked up at him and forced my face into an expression of frightened confusion.
I even made my eyes shine with tears.
“Daniel, it was only a deposit for a rental apartment. I’ve decided to leave on my own. I can’t stay here and watch the two of you… Well, you know. The courier is bringing the documents on Friday at six in the evening. I’ll take my passport and go. You’ll never have to see me here again. I promise.”
His fingers loosened.
Then, as though he had touched something disgusting, he wiped his palm against his trousers.
“That’s what you should have done from the beginning. For once, you’re acting like a normal adult. Pack your rags and get out.”
Friday arrived.
At 5:50 p.m., Daniel and Claire were stretched comfortably across the sofa with glasses of expensive wine in their hands.
They were no longer making any effort to hide their excitement. They openly discussed throwing out my bed after I left and converting my room into a large dressing room for Claire’s overflowing wardrobe.
Margaret had come as well.
Naturally, she claimed she was there only to make certain I did not take anything “that wasn’t mine.”
Family silver teaspoons were apparently a serious concern.
At exactly six o’clock, a black car stopped outside the gates.
A man in an impeccably tailored suit stepped out. He carried a thick leather folder.
“Oh, your courier has finally arrived,” Daniel said lazily, without bothering to stand. “Hand over the paperwork. We’ll sign it, and then you’ll be free, Emily. You can fly wherever you like.”
But the man was not a courier.
He walked calmly to the table, opened the folder, and placed several stamped documents in front of Daniel. Beside them, he set down an official registry extract.
“Good evening. My name is Richard Bennett. I represent Northstar Capital. Mr. Daniel Collins, I am here to notify you that ownership of this property, along with seventy percent of the shares in your bakery company, has been transferred to another owner.”
Daniel choked on his wine.
Red droplets splashed across his white shirt.
Within seconds, the color drained from his face.
“What property? What are you talking about? This is a mistake! The house belongs to my mother! Mom, explain this to him!”
Margaret went deathly pale.
Her chin began to tremble.
“Danny… I… Do you remember March? You asked me to sign some papers for the bakery expansion. You said it was nothing serious, just a formality so the bank would give you a better loan rate…”
Richard adjusted his glasses.
“I’m afraid it was not a formality, Mrs. Collins. You signed a guarantee secured by the property. Your son defaulted substantially on his obligations. In addition, our investigation uncovered transfers of company operating funds into his personal accounts. The debt was later purchased by my client, Emily Carter. The foreclosure procedure was completed at five o’clock this afternoon.”
Absolute silence filled the room.
It was so complete that we could hear Claire struggling in the corner with the clasp of her suitcase.
The same suitcase she had never fully unpacked during her stay.
Perhaps some instinct had warned her not to settle in too deeply.
“What does that mean for me?” the guest asked softly, backing toward the door.
“It means, Claire,” I said, taking a step toward her, “that you’re welcome to take your promising businessman with you. You can bring all his debts along too. And take his mother, if you’re feeling generous.”
Then I turned to Daniel.
“By the way, did you really never realize that Claire had known my attorney for quite some time?
I arranged for her to be standing near you at that conference.
I needed you to relax.
I wanted you to believe you were young again—charming, successful, irresistible, a man who could have anything he wanted.
I needed you to stop paying attention to the business and abandon control over the paperwork.
You brought Claire into this house yourself.
You gave her unrestricted access to your office.
And while you were showing off, she photographed and copied the original documents I had never been able to reach.”
Claire straightened her skirt and suddenly smiled at me.
“Emily, the rest of my fee, as agreed?”
“It was transferred this morning,” I told her.