Chapter 3 - The Forged Power
The heavy, toxic winter wind howled aggressively across the large suburban porch, but Gloria’s cold, lethal voice sliced right through the freezing noise.
"I have every legal right, you pathetic little brat," Gloria stated clinically, wrapping her thick green fur-lined coat tighter around her body.
A tight close-up captured Gloria completely devoid of empathy for the man who had provided her with a multi-million-dollar life. She looked down at her sick, shivering husband with pure, unapologetic disgust.
"I've had enough of both of you!" Gloria screamed fiercely, pointing her manicured finger directly at Claire's red winter coat. "He requires twenty-four-hour medical care! I am not spending the prime years of my life wiping the drool off a pathetic, brain-dead old man!"
Claire finally managed to pull her father up to his feet. She wrapped her arm tightly around his waist, keeping him steady as he trembled violently in the freezing cold. The father looked back at his own massive stone house, his weathered face breaking with the profound, heartbreaking realization that the woman he loved had completely, maliciously betrayed him.
"You have to pay for his medical facility, Gloria!" Claire roared aggressively, tears of pure, unadulterated fury freezing on her pale cheeks. "He has millions of dollars in his private trust fund! You can't just throw him onto the street with absolutely nothing!"
Darren chuckled loudly, leaning arrogantly against the heavy mahogany doorframe.
"He doesn't have a trust fund anymore, Claire," Darren smirked, his beige overcoat swishing slightly.
Claire physically stopped breathing. The freezing winter air suddenly felt completely suffocating.
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"His financial matters are already handled!" Gloria shouted fiercely, pulling a crisp, legally certified document from her coat pocket and waving it arrogantly in the cold air.
👉 Claire stared at the heavy legal paper, realizing exactly how the toxic stepmother had completely stolen her father's empire.
