Chapter 4 - The Truth Exposed
Denise’s eyes went wide as saucers. "Prenuptial agreement? What prenuptial agreement?!"
She spun around and grabbed Ryan’s silk pajama shirt, shaking him violently. "Ryan! What prenuptial agreement?! You told me she signed over half her family's trust to you! You told me you were buying into Halston Industrial with her money!"
Ryan couldn't look his mother in the eye. The entire elaborate castle of lies he had built over two years—the lies he used to impress his overbearing, demanding mother, the lies he used to pretend he was a wealthy, powerful man—was collapsing in front of the police.
"He lied to you, Denise," I said coldly, holding a cold towel against my leg. "Ryan doesn't own this condo. He doesn't own his Mercedes—it's a lease paid by my company. He doesn't have an investment portfolio. He has sixty-two thousand dollars in credit card debt that he tried to hide from me before the wedding."
Denise gasped, staggering back as if she had been hit by a truck. "No... no, my Ryan is a sales director! He makes three hundred thousand a year!"
"He makes eighty thousand, Denise," I corrected mercilessly. "And he spent the last six months begging me to pay off his back taxes so he wouldn't go to jail for fraud."
"Shut up! Shut your mouth!" Ryan screamed, his face turning purple as he tried to rush toward me.
Officer Miller and his partner grabbed Ryan instantly, slamming him against the marble wall of the foyer. The metallic click of handcuffs echoed loudly through the quiet apartment.
"Ryan Mercer, you are under arrest for domestic battery and assault," Officer Miller stated sternly, pulling Ryan’s arms behind his back.
"Officer, please!" Ryan wept, the tough, commanding husband vanishing entirely as tears streaked down his face. "It was a mistake! She provoked me! Claire, tell them! Tell them not to take me!"
"And you," the second officer said, turning to Denise, who was staring at her cuffed son in total horror. "Ma'am, you are being cited for trespassing and felony battery. Pack your things and step out of the residence immediately."
May you like
"You can't do this to me!" Denise shrieked, her aristocratic demeanor completely shattering. "Do you know who I am?!"
"I know who you are," I said, stepping up to her as the officers guided Ryan toward the elevator. "You're a trespasser in my home. And if I ever see your face near this building again, I will file a permanent restraining order that will ensure you spend your golden years answering to a judge."
