My father's face went white. He snatched up the documents. Once the truth sank in, he wheeled on Frederick with a roar. "What is this? You told me you were using Libby's money!"
Frederick stood there with nothing to say. He turned to me, expecting me to explain, to smooth things over. I didn't say a word. Instead, I pulled out the divorce papers I'd had drawn up long ago.
"From this moment on, your problems are no longer mine. Consider this your official notice: you're leaving this marriage with nothing."
My parents' assets were now entirely in my name. Everything they'd handed over to Agatha had been clawed back by force. All those two would inherit were the loan shark debts Agatha had racked up.
The divorce agreement gave me the lion's share of Frederick's wealth as well.
Within seconds the room erupted. Frederick demanded to know how long Agatha had been lying to him. My parents grabbed Frederick, shouting about why they were drowning in debt. Agatha crumbled, clutching her head and sobbing, unable to get a single word out.
What had been a picture-perfect family dinner dissolved into chaos. I watched them shove and scream and point fingers, each one blaming the others, and all I felt was a quiet, bone-deep satisfaction.
I turned and walked out the door. Joseph's car was already waiting. The moment I climbed in, I pulled the new diamond ring off my finger and tossed it out the window.
"What's going on in there?" Joseph glanced toward the house. "I could hear the shouting from out here."
"Don't worry about it. Just a pack of selfish people choking on what they deserve."
I powered off my phone, tossed it onto the curb, and never looked back.
