Chapter 3
The hotel room was perfectly quiet,
providing the sanctuary I needed,
as I prepared for a day of ruthless action.
I drank a cup of black coffee,
staring at the list Olivia had sent me,
detailing every step of our legal strategy.
My first target was the joint savings account,
the one holding the remains of my fertility fund,
which they had so casually drained.
I drove to the main bank branch downtown,
walking past the glass doors with purpose,
wearing my sharpest black business suit.
I sat across from the branch manager,
a polite woman named Sarah,
who had known me for over five years.
I requested an immediate cash transfer,
moving my entire half of the liquid assets,
into a secure offshore trust Olivia arranged.
Sarah typed rapidly on her keyboard,
processing the massive financial request,
without asking any invasive questions.
I watched the numbers drop to zero,
feeling a surge of fierce satisfaction,
as I reclaimed the money I had earned.
I did not touch Kevin's salary deposits,
leaving exactly his legal share behind,
so he could not accuse me of outright theft.
However,
I canceled the overdraft protection,
linking his accounts to my personal credit,
ensuring he would fall flat on his face.
Next,
I drove to the property management office,
where we held the lease for our apartment.
I paid the penalty to remove my name,
submitting the paperwork with a smile,
making him solely responsible for the rent.
He always bragged about his big clients,
so he could pay for his own luxurious life,
without my secret financial backing.
My phone began to ring loudly,
displaying my mother's contact name,
which made my jaw clench in anger.
I answered on the third ring,
keeping my voice light and cheerful,
pretending I was waiting at an airport gate.
She immediately started complaining,
saying Sierra needed a special breast pump,
and asked if I could transfer five hundred dollars.
She said Kevin was busy working,
so it was my duty as a loving sister,
to step up and help the new mother.
The audacity of her request was staggering,
knowing she was actively mocking me,
while begging for my hard-earned cash.
I told her I was experiencing banking issues,
claiming my cards were temporarily frozen,
due to suspicious travel activity.
My mother clicked her tongue in annoyance,
calling me irresponsible and careless,
before hanging up the phone abruptly.
I laughed out loud in my car,
the sound echoing in the confined space,
realizing how pathetic they truly were.
They relied entirely on my generosity,
funding their secret lives with my wallet,
while treating me like absolute garbage.
I opened my banking application,
canceling the auto-pay for my mother's car,
which I had been funding for two whole years.
Let her see how far her favorite daughter gets her,
when the repo man comes knocking at her door,
looking for the missed monthly payments.
I drove back to the hotel feeling victorious,
May you like
knowing the invisible web was tightening,
ready to trap them in their own deceit.
