They Wanted Family Drama And I Wanted A Property Deed Chapter 05
The woman at the front wore a dark green silk dress with a cashmere shawl over her shoulders. She
was soft-spoken but owned the room.
She didn’t even glance at the Harts. She walked straight to me and tucked a strand of hair behind my
ear.
“Sweetheart, did you sleep well last night?”
I shook my head. “No. Too much dust.”
Eleanor’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes anymore.
Catherine spoke up, her voice stiff. “And you are…?”
Eleanor turned and placed a folder on the table.
“I’m Lena’s mother.”
Richard frowned. “Mrs. Vance, she’s back with the Harts now. This kind of interference isn’t
exactly appropriate.”
Eleanor smiled gently.
“Mr. Hart, let’s set ‘appropriate’ aside for a second. The Hart Group has three loans coming due next quarter. The largest one? I’m the creditor.”
The room went dead silent.
Eleanor’s voice was soft.
“So today, I’m not just here to pick up my daughter. I’m also here to see if the Harts still have any
intention of paying their debts.”
Richard’s face looked worse than the failed truffle pasta from last night.
“What did you say?”
Eleanor sat down. Her lawyer started spreading documents across the table.
“Three years ago, the Hart Group had a cash flow problem. You borrowed two sums through
intermediaries. Later, you pledged equity in exchange for supply chain financing. Mr. Hart, you
didn’t really think that money fell from the sky, did you?”
Sweat beaded on Richard’s forehead.
Bennett’s jaw went slack. “Dad, I thought the company was stable?”
Richard didn’t answer.
Catherine gripped the back of the sofa, her voice shaky. “Mrs. Vance, isn’t this some kind of misunderstanding?”
Eleanor’s smile stayed warm. “No misunderstanding. The only misunderstanding was you thinking Lena would have nowhere to go if she left the Harts.”
I sat to the side, drinking my coffee. Calm.
I’d always known my adoptive parents had money. But they were so low-key about it. Thomas collected rent in his slippers. Eleanor baked pastries in her silk dresses. They looked like any normal wealthy family from Fairhaven.
Then, on my eighteenth birthday, they gave me an entire portfolio of assets.
I flipped through the first few pages. Not commercial properties. Not debt holdings either. Shares in
companies I’d actually heard of.
I asked Thomas back then, “How much money does this family actually have?”
He said, “Not much. Just enough that you’ll never have to beg for love.”
Turns out, he was right.
Sophia stood at the top of the stairs. Her face was pale. Panic flickered in her eyes.
She probably never expected that the “adopted daughter” she looked down on wasn’t standing on
dirt. She was standing on an entire Tri-State Area asset chain.
Richard tried to hold onto his dignity. “Mrs. Vance, business is business. Family is family.”
Eleanor nodded. “Of course. So I won’t say much more today. I’ll just ask one question. What
exactly are your plans for my daughter?”
Catherine’s lips parted.
Then Sophia came running down the stairs, crying. “Mrs. Vance, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t
have taken Lena’s room. I’ll move out right now.”
She made a break for the door.
Bennett grabbed her arm on instinct. “Sophia!”
I set down my coffee cup. “Sophia, you already pulled this stunt last night. Repeating a performance
makes the audience tired.”
She stood there, tears on her face, looking at me like she was the victim. “Lena, I just wanted to
make you feel better.”
“I’m not upset,” I said with a smile. “I just think your game is weak. If you’re going to play the pity card, at least avoid the cameras. Don’t plan with Marge last night about going through my stuff and then act innocent today.”
Sophia’s face changed instantly.
Catherine froze. “What?”
I handed her my phone.
On the screen: the hallway security footage.
Sophia’s voice, low, instructing Marge. “Take a look at that folder of hers. Get pictures if you can.
There’s no way an adopted daughter actually has money. She’s faking it.”
Marge asked, “What if we get caught?”
Sophia laughed coldly. “Then say you were helping her unpack. Mom and Dad and Bennett will buy it. They always believe me.”
The video ended. The living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
