Chapter 3 - The Country Club Lobby
By four-thirty in the afternoon, the snow had stopped, leaving the streets of the upscale suburban district blanketed in a deceptive, pristine white.
I parked my dented Honda three rows back in the sprawling parking lot of the Oakridge Country Club. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the grand ballroom, I could see the glittering chandeliers, the ice sculptures, and the flurry of waiters setting out crystal flutes for Madison’s engagement celebration.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. It was a group chat notification from Mom.
Mom: Hope you found somewhere warm to stay, Claire. Try not to be too bitter tonight. We’re celebrating family.
Beneath it, Madison had dropped a photo of herself holding a massive diamond ring while standing beside Ethan, her wealthy, smug-looking fiancé, both of them beaming in front of a multi-tiered engagement cake.
I didn't reply. Instead, I opened the mobile banking portal on my phone, linked directly to the primary trust management terminal Mr. Reeves had set up for me an hour earlier.
The digital clock in the corner of my screen ticked downward.
4:52 PM.
4:53 PM.
May you like
4:54 PM.
In six minutes, my father’s business line—the very line he used to fund his lifestyle, his Country Club dues, and Madison’s endless shopping sprees—would attempt its automated end-of-quarter disbursement.
