Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Past
The dining room felt like a pressure cooker,
the air thick with unspoken threats and decades of buried resentments.
Daniel stood frozen between his mistress and his family,
his hands clenched into tight fists.
"Vanessa,
shut up,"
Daniel hissed,
glaring at her.
"You weren't supposed to say anything."
"Shut up?"
Vanessa echoed,
her voice rising in pitch as her eyes flashed with anger.
"You told me your marriage was over,
Daniel."
"You told me Emily was a cold,
ambitious gold-digger who only cared about your money!"
I almost laughed aloud at the irony.
I had worked two jobs while Daniel was in business school,
paying off his credit card debts and supporting his dream.
I had given up my own corporate trajectory to move to Chicago for his promotion.
"Is that what he told you?"
I asked,
leaning back in my chair.
"That’s fascinating,
considering I paid off his student loans four years ago."
Robert stood up slowly,
placing both palms on the mahogany table.
"Daniel,"
Robert said,
his tone cold enough to freeze water.
"In my office."
"Father,
please,
let me explain—"
"Now,"
Robert demanded,
his authority leaving no room for negotiation.
Daniel cast one last panicked glance at Vanessa before following his father down the hall,
the heavy oak doors of the study slamming shut behind them.
Left alone in the dining room with Margaret and Vanessa,
the silence returned,
heavy and suffocating.
Vanessa cleared her throat,
adjusting her cream coat.
"I should leave,"
she muttered,
turning toward the front entrance.
"Not yet,
Miss Reed,"
Margaret said,
her voice as smooth as velvet.
"We haven't finished our tea."
"I don't want your tea,"
Vanessa spat,
dropping her polite facade completely.
"You think you’re so high and mighty,
don't you,
Mrs. Bennett?"
"Your son came to me,"
she continued,
stepping closer to Margaret.
"He hated the pressure you put on him,
he hated being the obedient little heir."
"With me,
he gets to be a real man."
Margaret didn't flinch.
She picked up her tea cup,
took a delicate sip,
and looked up with piercing gray eyes.
"A real man does not steal from his father to pay for a mistress’s lease,"
Margaret remarked dryly.
"And a real woman does not rely on a married man’s stolen allowance to cover her back rent."
Vanessa’s face went pale.
"How do you know about my lease?"
"I own the building,"
Margaret replied with a faint,
lethal smile.
"And as of eight o'clock this morning,
your eviction notice has been filed."
Vanessa’s mouth opened,
but no sound came out.
She looked at Margaret in absolute horror.
"You can't do that!"
"I can,
and I have,"
Margaret said simply.
"Now,
if you don't remove yourself from my property within two minutes,
I will have security escort you out."
Vanessa turned to me,
her eyes wild with desperation.
"You think you won,
Emily?"
she sneered,
backing toward the doorway.
"He doesn't love you."
"He never loved you."
"He only married you because your family had connections in real estate."
I looked at her,
feeling no anger,
only an overwhelming sense of clarity.
"Keep him,"
I said,
my voice steady and strong.
"He’s all yours."
"Just make sure you check his bank balance first."
Vanessa spun around and hurried out the front door,
her heels clicking furiously against the stone driveway.
Margaret turned her gaze back to me.
"Are you alright?"
"I’m better than alright,"
I replied,
opening my phone.
"I just sent the entire financial folder to my lawyer."
Margaret smiled,
a genuine,
proud smile that reached her eyes.
"Good,"
May you like
she whispered.
"Now let’s go hear how much Daniel is willing to lie to save his skin."
