Chapter 4 - The Truth About the Golden Son
Outside, the late afternoon sun was beginning to dip beneath the manicured hedges of the subdivision. Adrian hauled his luggage down the front stone steps, sweating profusely through his pressed shirt. Lilibeth followed behind, clutching two of his luxury coats, her face pale with humiliation as she noticed the curtains twitching in the neighboring house across the street.
Mrs. Higgins, the neighborhood gossip, was standing by her mailbox, pretending to inspect her letters while watching the entire Mercer family unravel on my front lawn.
""Adrian,"" Vanessa said coldly, standing by the curb. ""Where are we going?""
Adrian wiped his brow with the back of his hand. ""We... we can get a room at the Marriott downtown until I sort out a temporary lease.""
""With what money?"" Vanessa demanded, crossing her arms. ""Your card was declined at the boutique yesterday when I bought this maternity dress! You said it was a bank security glitch!""
Adrian froze, his eyes darting toward his mother.
Lilibeth bristled, stepping between them. ""Don't you speak to my son in that tone! Adrian is an executive! He has savings! Once his lawyer reviews the marital accounts, Maria will be forced to give him his fair share!""
I stepped out onto the wide front porch, leaning casually against one of the white pillars.
""There are no marital accounts to divide, Lilibeth,"" I called out across the lawn.
All three of them turned around.
""What did you say?"" Lilibeth shrieked.
""Before we got married, Adrian signed a full prenuptial agreement waiving all claims to my pre-marital assets, my executive stock options, and my inheritance,"" I said, projecting my voice clearly enough for Mrs. Higgins to hear every word. ""And as for his savings? Adrian’s personal bank account currently holds two hundred and fourteen dollars and sixteen cents. His checking account has been overdrawn twice this month.""
Vanessa’s jaw dropped. ""Two hundred dollars? Two hundred dollars?!""
""That's a lie!"" Adrian shouted, though his cracking voice betrayed his terror. ""Maria, you have no right to disclose my financial status!""
""I work in compliance at the commercial bank that holds your lines of credit, Adrian,"" I replied with a calm, predatory smile. ""I don't need to violate privacy laws to know that the secondary credit card you gave Vanessa has reached its sixty-day delinquency limit. In fact, our fraud detection department flagged it this morning because you missed the minimum payment three months in a row.""
Vanessa turned toward Adrian, her face purple with rage. ""You broke loser! You told me you had a six-figure investment portfolio! You told me you were buying a beach house in the Outer Banks for our family!""
""I was going to! I have business deals pending!"" Adrian pleaded, reaching out for her hand. ""Vanessa, the baby—""
""Get your hands off me!"" she screamed, slapping his arm away. ""There is no baby!""
The front lawn went dead silent. Even Mrs. Higgins stopped shuffling her mail and turned her entire body toward the driveway.
Lilibeth gasped, clutching her chest. ""What... what did you just say?""
Vanessa sneered, pulling a small pack of cigarettes from her designer purse with hands that were completely steady. ""I said there is no baby, you old fool. I missed my period two months ago and took advantage of the situation because your idiot son promised me a luxury lifestyle. The blood test came back negative three days ago. I was going to tell him after we secured the house deed, but since he doesn't own a single square foot of dirt, I'm done playing along.""
Lilibeth staggered backward, catching herself against the hood of Mark’s parked SUV. ""You... you lied? You lied about the Mercer family heir?""
May you like
""What family heir?"" Vanessa laughed harshly, lighting a cigarette and blowing smoke toward the manicured lawn. ""You people live in a fantasy world. Your son is a glorified paper pusher with mountains of debt. Have fun sleeping in his car.""
She turned, pulled her phone to her ear, and began walking down the tree-lined avenue without looking back once.
