I sat at the head of my own dining table with my right arm locked inside a cast.
Michael sat beside me.
Across from us were his mother, Evelyn, and his sister, Tessa.
Evelyn lifted her crystal glass.
“Michael finally taught you a lesson.”
Tessa laughed.
“She really thought she was the one in control around here.”
Michael smiled as if the entire room belonged to him.
He had told everyone I had fallen on the stairs.
That was not what happened.
The truth was that everything changed after I refused to transfer my late father’s property company into Michael’s name.
Now he leaned toward my plate.
“Need some help?”
Before I could answer, he cut my food into tiny pieces and pushed the plate toward me.
“See? Everything is easier when you cooperate.”
Evelyn smiled approvingly.
I looked slowly around the room.
The chandelier.
The dark wood walls.
The windows overlooking the lake.
My mansion.
My family trust.
My father’s company.
Michael’s family had moved in six months earlier and slowly started behaving as though all of it belonged to them.
Evelyn replaced staff.
Tessa took over the west wing.
Michael introduced himself as the owner.
They thought marriage gave him control.
They had never read the trust.
I raised my glass with my left hand.
“To valuable lessons.”
Michael’s smile disappeared.
He knew that expression.
It was the one I used during negotiations when someone had missed an important clause.
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