Chapter 2
Brooke suddenly let out a deafening,
horrified scream,
dropping my favorite,
irreplaceable ceramic mug directly onto the hard hardwood floor.
It shattered instantly into a hundred jagged,
sharp pieces,
splattering dark,
hot coffee all across her bare,
tanned legs.
She was staring wildly at her glowing phone screen,
her perfectly manicured hands shaking uncontrollably,
tears already streaming down her panicked face.
"My bank accounts,"
Brooke shrieked loudly,
her voice cracking,
sounding completely hysterical and unhinged,
"they are completely frozen,
my entire life savings are totally gone,
every single penny is just wiped out."
"That brings me to my absolutely favorite point,"
I said calmly,
stepping carefully and gracefully over the broken ceramic pieces scattered on the floor.
"The massive sum of money I happily transferred at exactly nine o'clock this morning,"
I explained softly,
turning my attention back to my devastated husband,
"did not actually pay off your toxic commercial debt,
Jameson."
"I personally saw the official bank confirmation receipt,"
he yelled frantically,
his face turning an ugly,
blotchy shade of bright purple.
"You saw a standard,
routine transfer of your massive debt to a brand new,
aggressive creditor,"
I smiled sweetly,
"a ruthless private equity firm called Obsidian Financial Holdings."
"So what,"
he spat back,
spit flying from his dry lips,
"you just moved the debt around to a different bank,
you still paid the original lenders off."
"Obsidian Financial Holdings is my private company,"
I revealed slowly,
watching with pure joy as the remaining blood drained completely from his pathetic face.
"And the brand new,
legally binding terms of your acquired debt are incredibly,
ruthlessly,
unforgivingly aggressive."
Brooke sobbed uncontrollably,
sliding down the smooth wall until she hit the floor,
completely ignoring the spilled coffee staining the hem of the robe.
"You willingly co-signed his most recent,
desperate business loans,"
I reminded the sobbing,
miserable mistress,
"did you not,
Brooke."
"I just signed a few standard,
meaningless character reference papers,"
she cried out pitifully,
thick black tears ruining her expensive,
carefully applied makeup.
"You signed official,
notarized documents as a primary financial guarantor,"
I corrected her gently,
feeling absolutely no sympathy for the woman who tried to steal my life.
"Meaning my equity firm just legally,
swiftly seized all of your personal assets,
including your shiny new sports car,
to cover the immediate default penalties."
"Default,"
Jameson choked out,
grabbing his chest as if he were having a sudden,
massive heart attack.
"Yes,"
I nodded cheerfully,
"you missed the secret,
accelerated payment deadline by exactly two minutes this morning,
meaning the entire hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
May you like
plus an additional fifty percent penalty,
is now due immediately."
