Chapter 9 - The Phone Call
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Daniel went completely white. He reached out with trembling hands, trying to slam the laptop lid shut himself.
“Emma, close that! Close it right now!” he begged, his voice cracking in sheer panic.
“Did you forge my signature, Daniel?” I asked, my voice chillingly steady. “Or did your mother sign it for you?”
Vivian backed away from the sideboard, her hands shaking uncontrollably. “Emma, you’re confused… you don’t understand how family works. We were going to tell you! We just needed to bridge the gap for a few months!”
“You committed bank fraud,” I stated flatly. “And ten minutes ago, you physically assaulted me in front of eleven witnesses.”
I closed the laptop gently, slid it back into my leather bag, and zipped it shut.
“You’re destroying your marriage over money!” Vivian yelled, trying to regain her dominant tone. “You’re throwing away a future with the Mercer family over a minor misunderstanding!”
“No, Vivian,” I said, slinging the bag over my shoulder. “I’m ending a financial hostage situation because you put your hands on me.”
Daniel reached out and grabbed my wrist firmly. “Emma, you are not leaving this house tonight. We are going to sit down and figure this out like a family.”
I looked down at his hand on my skin, then looked up into his eyes with absolute coldness.
“Don’t touch me,” I said.
My tone was so lethal that Daniel instantly let go, taking two steps back as if he had been burned.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and dialed a three-digit number on speakerphone.
Vivian sneered, trying to mask her growing terror. “Who are you calling? The police? Do you really think they care about a family argument?”
I held her gaze as the call connected on the second ring.
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“911, what is your emergency?” the dispatcher’s voice echoed clearly through the silent mansion.
“My name is Emma Miller,” I said into the phone. “I have just been physically assaulted at 412 Mercer Manor Drive. I need an officer dispatched immediately, and I wish to press formal charges.”
