The following morning, Chloe posted photos from the bridal suite.
Champagne.
Diamonds.
Smiling bridesmaids.
Then Ethan texted me.
***Sign the deed by noon and we can forget yesterday happened.***
I almost laughed.
He actually believed I was stuck in a hospital bed and desperate enough to keep the family together that I would surrender.
So I replied with three words.
***Send the final version.***
Ten minutes later, the document arrived.
This version was even worse.
My supposed signature had already been notarized.
The notary stamp belonged to Victor Hale, one of Dad’s golfing friends.
My attorney, Rachel Kim, called almost immediately.
“Claire, this is enough. And there’s another problem for them.”
“What problem?”
“The company receiving your penthouse lists your father as manager, Ethan as beneficiary, and your mother as authorized signer.”
I closed my eyes.
All three of them.
“They didn’t improvise this yesterday,” Rachel said. “They planned it.”
