“Eat Our Leftovers,” My Sister-in-Law Sneered Before Throwing Scalding Soup in My Face While My Mother-in-Law Laughed—So I Slapped Her, Made One Phone Call, and Said, “Let’s See Who Sleeps on the Street Tonight”...

A month later, the dust had finally settled.

I was sitting in my newly renovated office at Hale Capital Group, reviewing the quarterly projections. Without the parasitic drain of Diane and Brooke’s fake salaries, the company was highly profitable. I had appointed a sharp, ambitious new CEO and transitioned back into my role as Chairman of the Board.

Natalie Pierce walked into the office, dropping a thick manila envelope onto my desk.

"The divorce is finalized," Natalie announced with a triumphant smile. "The judge fast-tracked the decree given the criminal proceedings against his family. You are officially Morgan Hale again."

I picked up the envelope, feeling a profound, absolute sense of peace.

"And the criminal trial?" I asked.

"Diane and Brooke accepted a plea deal to avoid ten years in a state penitentiary," Natalie explained, taking a seat. "They pled guilty to felony embezzlement. They received three years in a minimum-security facility, plus full restitution. They’ll be working in the prison laundry room to pay you back."

I couldn't help but smile at the poetry of it. The women who threw hot soup at me because I reached for bread first were now washing other people's clothes for pennies.

"And Grant?"

"He moved to Ohio," Natalie shrugged. "Got a job as a mid-level project manager at a logistics firm. He’s living in a one-bedroom apartment, sending half his paycheck to a public defender to handle his mother’s restitution appeals. He is completely broken."