Chapter 3 - The Shark Comes Out

Marcus Vance was not a warm man. He was a ruthless, terrifyingly calm attorney who walked into my kitchen at exactly 7:00 AM, poured himself a mug of black coffee, and spent two hours reading through David’s files without saying a single word.

When he finally looked up, his eyes were sharp.

"Your fiancé was a genius," Marcus said. "He gift-wrapped a federal fraud case. Your father has committed wire fraud, identity theft, and tax evasion. The forged power of attorney alone will carry a five-to-ten-year sentence."

"I want everything back," I said. "Every single cent they stole from me. And I want Chloe’s business liquidated. It was built on my money."

Marcus allowed a predatory smile to touch his lips. "Oh, we are going to do much more than that, Elena. We are going to freeze their assets by noon today."

By 1:00 PM, my phone started exploding. Texts from my mother, who had finally returned from their luxury cruise, poured in.

“Elena, what did you do?! The bank won't let us use our cards!” “Call me right now! Chloe is crying!” “How could you do this to your family after everything we’ve done for you?!”

I didn't block them. I wanted to see the panic. I wanted a front-row seat to the collapse of their perfect, entitled empire.

Then, Chloe made her first fatal mistake. Desperate for attention and deeply in denial, she took to Facebook. She posted a tearful, three-minute live video.

"My sister, who just went through a terrible tragedy, has lost her mind," Chloe sobbed to her thousands of followers. "She's using her grief to attack my family. She's suing us for money we don't owe her, trying to ruin my small business. Please pray for her mental health."

The comments flooded in. Hundreds of people calling me crazy, telling Chloe to stay strong.