Chapter 10 - Dead Key
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I turned to the valet. “What seems to be the problem?”
“A gentleman from the wedding party tried to start the vehicle to move it into the photo area,” the valet explained, looking confused. “But the ignition won't engage. The entire dashboard is flashing a red security warning stating that the key has been permanently revoked by the owner.”
The corridor went dead silent.
I turned my head slowly to look at Madison.
She stood there, frozen, holding the silver key fob in her trembling hand. She pressed the unlock button frantically. Nothing happened. No lights flashed. No beep sounded from outside.
“It’s a paperweight, Madison,” I said quietly. “I revoked remote authorization ten minutes ago. The engine is completely immobilized.”
Madison stared at the key in absolute horror. “You... you killed the key?”
“I secured my property,” I corrected. I held out my bare palm toward her. “Give me my key.”
Madison looked at Dad, waiting for him to step in, to yell, to demand that I hand over the car, to fix the world he had built out of cards.
But Dad didn't move. He couldn't. He was staring at the legal default notice in his hands, his spirit entirely broken by the impending financial ruin waiting for him on Monday morning.
Mom was weeping silently against the wall, realizing that her home, her reputation, and her lifestyle were crumbling around her ears.
Trevor took two steps away from Madison, looking at her like she was a contagious disease.
“Give her the key, Madison,” Trevor said coldly. “I’m not getting dragged into a grand larceny charge on my wedding night.”
Madison’s eyes filled with hot, angry tears. With a sharp gasp, she slammed the silver key fob into my open palm.
“I hate you!” she sobbed hysterically. “I hope you burn in hell, Claire!”
“I’ve already been through hell living with this family,” I replied smoothly, closing my fingers around the cold metal key. “Now it’s your turn to see how the other half lives.”
May you like
I turned to Daniel. “Let's go, Daniel. We have a very busy morning ahead of us.”
Without looking back at my collapsing family, I walked out of the hotel into the cool night rain, unlocked my Mercedes with my master smartphone app, and drove away into the night.
