Chapter 1: The Ambush
Claire stepped out of the taxi, still carrying the leather folder from her grandmother’s lawyer. Inside were documents confirming she had inherited $7 million and the Aspen estate. She had been smiling the entire ride home, eager to tell Daniel the news.
But the moment she reached the front steps, her smile disappeared.
Daniel stood on the porch beside his mother, Patricia. In Patricia’s hands was a thick stack of papers.
Divorce papers.
“The house is sold,” Patricia said coldly, as if announcing the weather. “You have nowhere to live now.”
Claire stopped walking.
Daniel refused to meet her eyes. He stared at the driveway instead, hands shoved into his pockets like a guilty child.
Patricia continued, pushing the documents toward Claire.
“The movers already packed your things. Everything is in storage. Sign these and make this easy. While you were busy burying your grandmother, Daniel finalized the sale. The buyers will be here any minute.”
Claire looked at her husband.
“Daniel?”
He still wouldn’t look at her.
That was when she understood.
This wasn’t a sudden decision. They had planned this. They had waited until she was grieving her grandmother, then tried to erase her from her own life.
May you like
They thought she would break.
They were wrong.
