Chapter 5 - The Family Meeting From Hell
The court proceedings began three weeks later.
But before the first hearing, my attorney suggested a private family mediation.
I agreed.
Not because I wanted reconciliation.
Because I wanted the truth spoken in one room.
Everyone gathered in my conference room.
My parents.
Sarah.
Greg.
My attorneys.
Marcus.
And me.
My father sat confidently.
He still believed he could manipulate the situation.
“You don't need to destroy the family,” he said.
I looked at him.
“You destroyed it.”
He sighed.
“You're being emotional.”
“No.”
I opened a folder.
“I'm being documented.”
Marcus displayed the financial records.
Transfers appeared across the screen.
Millions.
Then tens of millions.
My father's confidence disappeared.
My mother started crying.
“Please.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“We were afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing everything.”
“You stole from me because you were afraid of losing money?”
She nodded.
I shook my head.
“You had children.”
“We thought Sarah deserved a better life.”
“And I didn't?”
My mother couldn't answer.
I turned toward Sarah.
“You knew?”
She began crying.
“I suspected.”
“How long?”
She whispered.
“About six months.”
I closed my eyes.
Six months.
Six months of pretending.
Six months of smiling.
Six months of letting me pay for her wedding while knowing she was planning to use my money afterward.
“Why?”
Sarah wiped her tears.
“Because I was tired of being second.”
I looked at her.
“Second to whom?”
“You.”
The room became silent.
“I always felt like you were secretly judging me.”
“I wasn't.”
“You had everything.”
“I didn't.”
“You had money.”
“And you had our parents.”
Sarah laughed bitterly.
“They always loved you.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
I finally understood.
“They loved the version of me they could exploit.”
That sentence broke something in her.
She looked down.
My attorney slid a document across the table.
“This is the proposed settlement.”
My father picked it up.
“You want all the stolen funds returned.”
“Yes.”
“You'll leave us with nothing.”
“No.”
He looked confused.
“You'll keep your house.”
My mother stared at me.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want revenge.”
My father laughed.
“Then what do you want?”
“Justice.”
I turned toward Sarah.
“You'll receive nothing from my company.”
She nodded slowly.
“But I will pay for professional counseling and relocation if you want to start over.”
She looked at me.
“Why would you help me?”
“Because I'm not you.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then Greg spoke.
“I want out.”
Sarah turned.
“What?”
“I don't want this marriage.”
The room went silent.
“I can't marry someone whose family destroyed another family.”
Sarah whispered.
“You're leaving me?”
“Yes.”
She covered her face.
I watched her.
I felt sorry for her.
But I didn't stop him.
After the meeting, my mother approached me.
“You were always the strong one.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You were.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“I was just the one who stopped waiting for you to love me.”
She cried.
I walked away.
Outside the building, cameras were waiting.
News had already spread.
The private island wedding that collapsed had become a national story.
But I refused interviews.
I didn't want fame.
I wanted my daughter home.
That evening, Mia asked me something.
“Mommy, are we going back to the island?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
“Will Grandma be there?”
“No.”
She looked relieved.
Then she smiled.
“Can we swim?”
I laughed.
“Yes.”
For the first time in weeks, I felt peace.
But the next morning, Marcus called.
“There's another problem.”
“What now?”
“We found the person who altered your grandfather's trust.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Your uncle.”
My father's brother.
The man everyone believed had died years earlier.
Except he hadn't.
May you like
He had been living under another identity.
And he had been working with my father.
