They were like vultures flocking to a corpse, eager to tear off one last piece of meat.
I signaled to Vance and his team, who quietly slipped into the master bedroom and the executive office, taking position behind the soundproofed doors.
I walked over to the front door, unlocked it, and pulled it wide open.
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“Mariana!” Theresa cried, instantly bursting into fake, dramatic tears as she threw her arms around me. “Oh, my sweet, generous girl! I knew you had a good heart! I knew you wouldn’t let your family suffer!”
I pulled back from her embrace, my body rigid. “Come inside. All of you.”
They filed into my living room. Aaron immediately scanned the room, his eyes landing on a thick stack of legal documents sitting on the marble kitchen island alongside a silver fountain pen.
“Is that the settlement paper?” Aaron asked, his voice strained, trying to sound authoritative despite the sweat glistening on his forehead. “Does it state clearly that the bank fraud charges will be completely dropped?”
“It covers everything, Aaron,” I said smoothly, standing behind the island. “It releases Theresa from the mortgage, clears the forgery claim against Daniel, and transfers Vanguard Holdings to my firm.”
Lauren stepped forward, setting her handbag down. “And what about our personal credit lines? The ones you canceled? You need to reactivate them, Mariana. We’ve been put through immense psychological trauma over the last forty-eight hours.”
I looked at Lauren. The sheer, unadulterated audacity of this woman—standing in my home, after laundering millions in stolen blood money, demanding that I reactivate her allowance—was almost magnificent in its delusion.
“Don’t worry, Lauren,” I said, smiling sweetly. “You’re going to get exactly what you deserve tonight.”
Daniel walked up to me, reaching out to touch my arm. “Mari… can we talk after this? Can we try to rebuild? I know I was weak… I know I didn’t stand up for you at dinner, but I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
