Chapter 5 - An Unexpected Visitor
The sun was dipping below the horizon when my Uber dropped me off in front of my house.
As I walked up the paved driveway, I noticed a sleek black sedan parked haphazardly across the curb. A familiar silhouette was pacing back and forth on my front porch, arms crossed tightly over a cashmere coat despite the chilly autumn air.
Lucia.
She looked different than she had yesterday when she stood in my entryway like a triumphant queen. Her hair was slightly disheveled, her expensive handbag clutched in her fist like a weapon, and her face was flushed with an ugly mix of fury and panic.
As I approached the steps, she spun around, her eyes narrowing into venomous slits.
"You think you're very clever, don't you?" she hissed, stepping down to block my path.
I didn't stop. I walked right up the steps, stopped two feet away from her, and looked down with calm, unblinking detachment.
"Good evening, Lucia," I said evenly. "You're trespassing on private property. The deed is in my name, remember?"
"Don't you dare quote property law to me!" she snapped, her voice rising in pitch. "You manipulated my son! You trapped him with your little lies and your secret accounts while he worked himself to the bone to provide for this household! You're a parasite, Chloe—always have been, always will be!"
I let out a quiet, cold breath that formed a small cloud of vapor in the evening air.
"Lucia," I said softly, my voice cutting through her rant with terrifying clarity. "For eight years, I listened to you insult my work, belittle my presence, and poison my marriage. I let you do it because I wanted to see how far your son’s spine would bend before it snapped."
She blinked, momentarily stunned by the utter lack of fear in my tone.
"You didn't build a family," I continued, stepping a fraction of an inch closer. "You built a puppet. And yesterday, you finally convinced him to cut the strings and walk away. The only mistake you made..." I paused, letting my gaze lock onto hers "...was assuming I wasn't holding the scissors the entire time."
"Felix is going to destroy you in court," she spat, though her voice lacked its previous conviction. "His lawyer says—"
"His lawyer told him to sign the papers by Friday unless he wants his corporate bonuses seized and his bank accounts frozen for financial fraud," I interrupted smoothly. "Did he mention that part? Or did he leave out the part where your little bank transfer from three days ago is currently being investigated as an illegal asset concealment scheme?"
Color drained entirely from Lucia’s face. She stared at me as if she were looking at a ghost—or worse, a predator she had severely underestimated.
"You... you wouldn't," she whispered.
"Watch me," I replied.
I stepped past her, unlocked the front door, and pushed it open. Before she could follow me inside, I turned, looked her dead in the eye, and delivered the final sentence.
May you like
"Tell Felix he has until Friday to bring back every single piece of furniture he took yesterday. If one scratch is on my floors when the movers drop it off, the settlement offer goes off the table permanently."
I closed the heavy wooden door in her face, locked the deadbolt, and listened to the satisfying sound of her furious footsteps storming down the porch stairs into the dark.
