Chapter 3 - The Mother-in-Law’s Ambush
When a coward loses his power, he runs straight back to the person who created him.
By 2:00 PM that afternoon, Derek had fled back to his mother’s rowhouse in South Philadelphia.
Marjorie Halston was sitting on her porch in her flower-print housecoat, sipping iced tea and waiting for her son to return with the news that they were six-million-dollar millionaires.
When she saw Derek’s car pull up onto the curb, she stood up with a triumphant smile.
"Derek!" Marjorie called out, walking down the brick steps. "Did you sign the paperwork?! Did those corporate fools give us the money?! I’ve already called the contractor to look at the kitchen renovations!"
Derek stepped out of the car.
He wasn't wearing his jacket. His tie was loosened, his hair was unkempt, and his face was completely hollowed out.
"Mom..." Derek gasped, leaning against the hood of his sedan. "It’s over."
"What are you talking about?!" Marjorie snapped, her smile disappearing into a sharp scowl. "What do you mean it’s over? Did the firm reject us?"
"Northstar Ridge Capital..." Derek choked out, tears swelling in his eyes. "The CEO of Northstar Ridge... is Brynn."
Marjorie stared at her son as if he had lost his mind.
"What?!" she shrieked, her high-pitched voice piercing the quiet suburban street. "Brynn?! That broke girl who bought her dress off a clearance rack?! That girl who drives a Honda?!"
"She owns the firm, Mom!" Derek screamed back, snapping under the intense pressure. "She’s worth over eighty million dollars! She built a tech empire before I even met her! She hid it from me to see if I actually cared about her! And last night, because of your stupid fucking pride, because you made her clean vomit, we blew the entire thing!"
Marjorie stood frozen on the sidewalk. Her face went through five different stages of shock, denial, greed, and terrifying realization.
"Eighty... million...?" Marjorie whispered, her jaw dropping open. "She... she has eighty million dollars?!"
"And now she’s suing me!" Derek yelled, hitting the roof of his car with his fist. "She froze my business accounts! She served me with annulment papers! The creditors are revoking my corporate lines of credit! We’re ruined, Mom! We’re going to lose the house!"
Marjorie’s shock quickly transformed into white-hot, narcissistic rage.
"She tricked us!" Marjorie roared, her face turning purple with anger. "She committed fraud! She lied to us about who she was before you signed that marriage license! She led you on! We can sue her for half her estate! You’re her legal husband!"
"She has an elite legal team, Mom!" Derek cried out. "She recorded everything last night! She has footage of me striking her!"
"I don't care!" Marjorie shouted, grabbing her purse from the porch table. "She isn't getting away with this! No little girl throws dirty mop water on my son and walks away with eighty million dollars! Get in the car!"
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"Where are we going?!"
"To her office building!" Marjorie declared, her eyes burning with unhinged entitlement. "We’re going to make a scene! We’re going to tell the press that a wealthy CEO abused her poor husband and abandoned him on their wedding night! Let’s see how her precious reputation handles that!"
