The front door opened.
Mara entered carrying a thick black folder. A second woman followed her with a sealed envelope and an identification badge clipped to her coat.
For the first time that evening, Daniel stopped smiling.
Mara placed the folder beside the divorce papers and slowly opened it.
“”Good evening,”” Mara said, her voice cutting through the heavy silence of the dining room. “”I am Mara Chen, Natalie’s legal counsel. And this,”” she gestured to the woman beside her, “”is Detective Russo with the financial crimes division.””
Daniel stood up so fast his chair scraped violently against the hardwood floor. “”What is this? Natalie, what did you do?””
“”Sit down, Daniel,”” my father snapped. It was the first time he had spoken all night, and his voice was shaking with absolute rage.
Mara pulled a crisp document from her folder and laid it directly over Daniel’s divorce papers. “”First, regarding this condominium. Here is the original deed, along with the property acknowledgment you signed seven years ago, Daniel. This property was purchased entirely with Natalie’s pre-marital assets. You have absolutely no legal claim to it, nor can you force a sale.””
Fiona’s face went pale. She turned to Daniel, her eyes wide with panic. “”You told me half of this was yours. You said we could use it for the business!””
“”Oh, he tried,”” Mara continued smoothly, sliding a second document forward. “”Which brings us to the forged home-equity application. A federal offense.””
Detective Russo stepped forward, handing Daniel a formal summons. “”Mr. Vance, we will be expecting you at the precinct tomorrow morning for a formal interview regarding the fraudulent electronic signatures and the unauthorized wire transfer of thirty-five thousand dollars from a joint marital account into an LLC owned by Fiona Hayes.””
Fiona gasped, her hands trembling so badly she dropped her champagne flute. It shattered on the floor, the liquid spraying over her expensive shoes. “”I didn’t know!”” she cried, looking pleadingly at my parents. “”Mom, Dad, I swear I didn’t know he stole it!””
My mother stood up. Her face was a mask of icy disgust. She walked over to Fiona, reached down without a word, and unceremoniously unclasped the gold earrings from her daughter’s ears. Fiona whimpered, but my mother just dropped the stolen jewelry onto the table with a sharp clatter.
“”You are no daughter of mine,”” my mother said coldly. “”And neither of you will ever step foot in our home again.””
Daniel’s arrogant facade had completely crumbled. The calm smile was gone, replaced by the panicked look of a cornered animal. His eyes darted frantically between the detective, the lawyer, and my parents. “”Nat, please,”” his voice cracked. “”Let’s just talk about this privately. We can work it out.””
“”There is no easy way to tell someone they have been replaced,”” I quoted his exact words back to him, savoring the bitter, perfect taste of victory.
I pointed toward the hallway of my Portland condo.
“”Pack what you need tonight. You have thirty minutes to leave my home before Detective Russo arrests you for trespassing. The rest of your things will be mailed to whatever cheap motel you can afford.””
Fiona was sobbing hysterically now, mascara running in dark tracks down her cheeks, while Daniel stood paralyzed in the total ruins of the life he thought he had outsmarted.
I picked up my glass of champagne, raised it slightly in the air, and smiled.
“”Happy anniversary, Daniel. Now get the hell out of my house.”””
See more on the next page
