Chapter 13 - The Dinner Party
Late that afternoon, my mother, completely unaware of the legal avalanche suspended directly above her head, decided to double down on her arrogance.
One of my loyal contacts on the corporate board forwarded me an urgent email invitation. My mother was hosting a lavish, impromptu family dinner at the estate that evening. She had aggressively invited the top five board members, our extended wealthy cousins, and, most tellingly, two prominent society reporters from a local luxury magazine.
"She wants an audience," I mused, reading the guest list aloud to Elena.
"Why would she invite reporters?" Elena asked, wrapping a warm shawl around her shoulders.
"She plans to announce that the stress of the merger has made me mentally unstable," I explained, seeing right through my mother's transparent strategy. "She is going to publicly claim that I abandoned the family, and that Lucas will be temporarily stepping in to oversee the company's real estate portfolio."
"She wants to bury you publicly so you can't fight back," Elena realized, her eyes widening in horror. "Daniel, you can't let her do this."
I stood up, walking over to the closet and pulling out a crisp, dark suit. I slowly began to button my dress shirt.
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"No," I said, my voice completely devoid of fear. "She just saved me the trouble of gathering everyone together. She didn't build a trap, Elena. She built us a courtroom with guaranteed witnesses."
Before we left the hotel, a massive email arrived in my secure inbox. It was from the bank’s director of fraud prevention.
