Chapter 5
Chapter 5: The Ultimatum
Margaret frowned, looking as though she had misheard him. She stared at her son with absolute bewilderment.
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me. Pack your bags right now."
Margaret froze for a second, then burst into loud, theatrical laughter. A shrill, mocking sound that echoed off the high ceilings of the living room.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Daniel. Stop acting like a clown."
"I am entirely serious."
Margaret kept the smile on her face, waving her hand arrogantly.
"Surely you don't mean you're kicking out the mother who gave birth to you. You mean you're yelling at that girl, right?"
Daniel's voice suddenly turned freezing cold, as sharp and deadly as a blade of ice. In all their years together, Emily had never heard her usually gentle husband use such a terrifying tone.
"The person who is leaving this house today, immediately, is you."
The mocking smile instantly vanished from Margaret's lips. She slammed her teacup down onto the saucer, standing up abruptly. Her face flushed bright red with fury and profound insult.
"Are you insane?!" she screamed. "I am your mother, and I own half of this house! You have absolutely no right to kick me out!"
"No. You don't own it."
Daniel replied calmly. He reached for his leather work briefcase resting on a nearby chair, unzipped it, and pulled out a sealed, grey legal folder.
"I knew you would use that exact excuse to threaten us."
Margaret's arrogant confidence began to waver. Her eyes glued themselves to the folder in her son's hands, a sudden, dark premonition creeping into her chest.
Daniel slowly opened the folder, pulling out documents stamped with red legal seals.
"My father secretly changed the ownership of this estate six years ago."
Margaret seemed to stop breathing. Her chest ceased moving. Her eyes widened to their absolute limits in utter shock.
"He transferred the entire estate and all its assets into an independent trust, solely in my name."
Emily, still curled on the floor, couldn't hide her astonishment. She looked up at her husband with tear-soaked eyes, completely oblivious to the deep, dark secrets of this wealthy family.
Daniel looked straight into his mother's eyes, continuing to speak, each word striking like a hammer.
"Before he died, he gave me this file. He explicitly told me not to reveal this truth to you until I personally understood why he did it."
Margaret's perfectly powdered face slowly drained of color, turning as pale and white as a corpse. Her lips trembled uncontrollably, unable to form a single word.
Daniel swallowed hard, his throat burning as he recalled his late father's final, agonizing words.
"He said..."
May you like
His voice dipped, carrying a profound, deep sorrow.
"...that if there ever came a day where you started treating the woman who would become my wife with the same ruthless, venomous cruelty that you treated him with for decades... I had to use this power to protect my family."
