Chapter 3 - THE FAMILY MEETING
My mother denied everything.
Of course she did.
She sat across from me in the private dining room wearing the same pearl necklace she had worn to Sarah's rehearsal dinner.
Dad sat beside her.
Sarah stood behind them.
Greg remained near the door.
I placed the folder on the table.
“Explain this.”
Mom glanced at it.
Then she smiled.
“You've always been dramatic.”
I pushed the photograph of Mia toward her.
“Someone was following my daughter.”
Mom didn't even blink.
“Don't exaggerate.”
I stood.
“You knew.”
Dad slammed his hand against the table.
“Sit down.”
I didn't.
“You tried to transfer my property.”
Dad's expression hardened.
“Your property?”
“Yes.”
“You wouldn't have any of it without this family.”
I almost laughed.
“My company has nothing to do with you.”
“You're our daughter.”
“And that doesn't make you my owner.”
Sarah suddenly screamed.
“You've always hated me!”
I turned toward her.
“That is what you believe?”
“Yes!”
“You think I hated you because I paid for your wedding?”
She froze.
“You think I hated you because I gave you everything?”
Her voice cracked.
“You always made me feel inferior.”
I shook my head.
“No, Sarah.”
“You made yourself feel inferior.”
The room became silent.
I opened another document.
“This is your financial history.”
Sarah stared.
“You've been receiving money from Greg for two years.”
She looked at him.
“What?”
Greg's face went pale.
I continued.
“Your wedding wasn't the first thing he paid for.”
I placed another document down.
“He paid off your credit cards.”
Another.
“He paid your apartment.”
Another.
“He paid your business debts.”
Sarah slowly turned toward Greg.
“Is that true?”
Greg said nothing.
She slapped him.
“You told me your family was rich!”
“They are.”
“Then why did Elena pay for everything?”
Greg looked at me.
“Because I needed her to.”
The words hung in the air.
I stared at him.
“What?”
He took a breath.
“The resort investment failed.”
Sarah looked horrified.
“What investment?”
Greg lowered his head.
“I owe people money.”
“How much?”
He didn't answer.
Sarah grabbed his arm.
“How much?”
“Almost seven million.”
My mother suddenly stood.
“That's why we needed Elena.”
I looked at her.
She didn't realize what she had just admitted.
“You planned this.”
Mom's silence was enough.
Dad finally spoke.
“We were trying to protect Sarah.”
“By stealing from me?”
“By making you finally contribute something to this family.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I contributed for years.”
Mom looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
I opened my banking records.
“For Sarah's college.”
Sarah stopped breathing.
“For Dad's medical bills.”
Dad stared at me.
“For Mom's house renovation.”
Mom's lips parted.
“For Sarah's first business.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
I looked at all of them.
“You didn't know because I never asked for recognition.”
Then I closed the folder.
“But that ends tonight.”
I walked toward the door.
Mom shouted:
“You cannot abandon your family!”
I stopped.
Then I turned around.
“No.”
“I am not abandoning my family.”
I looked at Mia through the glass doors.
“I am protecting my daughter from them.”
I walked away.
But before I reached the villa, my phone rang.
It was Mark.
“Your mother didn't forge the documents.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“She signed them.”
“Then why did you say this could be bigger?”
“Because someone else prepared them.”
“Who?”
Mark paused.
“The documents were created by a company registered under Greg's name.”
My stomach tightened.
“And Elena?”
“Yes?”
“The company was incorporated using your mother's personal information.”
I stared at the phone.
May you like
Then I whispered:
“They've been planning this for much longer than I thought.”
