“You may contact the legal department of Apex Holdings on Monday morning during regular business hours to arrange a supervised retrieval of your personal effects,” the chief replied coldly, devoid of any sympathy for the fraudster. “But right now, you must vacate the premises. All two hundred of you. The caterers have already been escorted out the front.”
The humiliation was absolute and total.
Nicole’s parents marched over, their faces masks of pure, aristocratic fury. Nicole’s father grabbed his daughter by the arm, hauling her to her feet.
“A fraud,” the older man spat, looking at Dalton with unvarnished disgust. “You sat in my study, drank my scotch, and told me you were a self-made only child. It turns out you are nothing but a pathetic squatter leeching off the sister you tried to hide from us. You sicken me.”
“Nicole, please!” Dalton begged, reaching out for his new bride.
Nicole didn’t even look at him. She yanked her arm away, hitched up her heavy designer wedding dress, and practically ran toward the side gate, fleeing the scene of her ruined life.
Amidst that deafening, humiliating chaos, my phone buzzed on the coffee table of my city apartment.
I looked at the caller ID. It was Dalton.
I took a slow sip of my champagne, savoring the crisp, dry taste, and hit accept.
“SIERRA! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!”
Dalton’s voice shrieked through the speaker, so loud and frantic it distorted the audio. He was hyperventilating, the sound of police sirens wailing in the background.
“I’m just cleaning my house, Dalton,” I said, my voice perfectly calm, a stark contrast to his absolute meltdown. “After all, you told everyone you were an only child. I’m just a ghost. And ghosts don’t leave multi-million dollar estates for ‘only children’ to live in for free.”
“You ruined my life!” he screamed, sobbing openly now. “Nicole left! The police are kicking us out! I have nothing! I’m homeless!”
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line, and suddenly my father’s voice boomed through the speaker, thick with rage.
“Sierra! I will disown you for this!” my father bellowed. “You hear me?! You are dead to us! You are no longer part of this family!”
I laughed softly. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated liberation.
“Dad,” I said smoothly, “you disowned me the moment you allowed him to leave my name off the guest list for a wedding in my own home. You erased me first. I just made it legal.”
I paused, letting the silence stretch for a second.
“Have a good night sleeping on the sidewalk, you family of three,” I whispered.
I hung up the phone. I didn’t block their numbers; I simply turned the phone off entirely. The show was over, and the curtains had permanently closed.
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