Chapter 5 - The Humiliating Begging
As Clara turned to leave the dining room, the grandmother shoved her chair back, the legs scraping violently against the hardwood floor.
The arrogant, cruel woman who had tormented them for years suddenly realized she was about to be evicted from her multi-million-dollar mansion.
"Clara, wait!" the grandmother shrieked, running around the table and physically throwing herself into Clara’s path.
She grabbed Clara’s navy blue velvet dress, tears of sheer, selfish panic ruining her expensive makeup. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll buy Jake a new sweater! I'll buy him ten new sweaters! Please, don't take the house away! Where will we go?!"
Clara looked down at the woman grasping her dress. She felt absolutely no pity, no guilt, and no hesitation.
"You can go wherever Marcus's brilliant business skills take you," Clara replied with surgical, icy detachment. She gently but firmly pulled her dress out of the grandmother's grip.
Marcus dropped to his knees on the floor, holding his phone as the bank began issuing automated foreclosure warning emails. "Clara! We'll do whatever you want! We'll sign the house over to you! Just pay the bank!"
"I don't want this house," Clara stated quietly, stepping past them. "It's filled with nothing but arrogant ghosts."
Clara gently guided Jake toward the grand front door of the estate. She opened the heavy oak door, letting the crisp, freezing winter air rush into the stifling mansion.
Before stepping out into the snow, Clara stopped. She looked back over her shoulder at the three pathetic, ruined people crying in the dining room. Her expression was unyielding, cold, and utterly victorious.
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"Merry Christmas," Clara delivered in a cool, decisive whisper. "Pay your own debts."
👉 Read Part 6 to see the legal consequences for Marcus's fraud.
