Chapter 3 - The Price of a Mercedes
Daniel sneered, puffing out his chest as he tried to reclaim his corporate dominance. “Oh, please, Luca. You’re still the same bitter, broken-down warehouse grunt you were fifteen years ago! You raised six kids in a cramped apartment while Chloe lived a life of luxury. You’re just jealous because she traded down when she married you!”
Chloe clutched at Daniel’s arm, her composure completely shattered by the public humiliation. “Daniel, shut up... just get me out of here. Everyone is looking at us.”
“No, let him talk,” Jessi interrupted, her eyes flashing dangerously. She turned her gaze from Daniel to her biological mother. “Mom told us for years that leaving wasn't her choice. She told the bridesmaids upstairs that Dad was lazy, poor, and couldn't give her the life she deserved.”
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Jessi reached down into the base of the wooden crate, pulled out a heavy, transparent plastic folder filled with notarized financial documents, and tossed it onto the nearest table.
“I majored in corporate law, Mom. Remember? You missed my high school graduation, but I graduated top of my class,” Jessi continued smoothly. “When I turned twenty-two, I ran a comprehensive forensic asset search on Daniel’s primary corporate accounts. Would you like me to read the public embezzlement filings from three years ago, Daniel? Or should we talk about how the luxury Mercedes you bought Chloe was actually leased under a shell corporation that currently faces federal wire fraud charges?”
