Chapter 3 - The Eviction of the Mistress
The country club dining room erupted into absolute chaos.
"You can't do this!" Margaret shrieked, slamming her hands on the table and knocking over a water glass. "He is the CEO! He built that company!"
"He built a house of cards on my dime, Margaret," I snapped, my voice finally hardening into the icy authority I had held back for eleven years. "And as for the house he lives in—my house, the one you all thought belonged to him—the locks were changed at noon today."
I turned my attention to Claire. The smug, victorious smirk had completely vanished from her face. She looked at Daniel, waiting for him to furiously deny my claims, to stand up and assert his power. But Daniel was hyperventilating, his head buried in his hands.
"Claire," I said, leaning down slightly so we were eye-to-eye. "You told me I should start getting used to you sitting in my chair. But I think you need to get used to paying your own rent. Because Daniel’s credit cards were shut off three hours ago. The Porsche you drove here tonight? It’s a company car. The repo men are towing it from the valet lot as we speak."
"Daniel, tell me she's lying!" Claire demanded, her voice shrill and panicked. She shook his arm. "Tell me you still have the money!"
Daniel couldn't even look at her. He looked at me, a pathetic, shattered shell of a man. "Eleanor, please. I have nothing. You took everything."
"I only took back what was mine," I corrected him. "You wanted a new life with her. You wanted to discard me in front of your entire family. Well, congratulations, Daniel. You're free. You have no job, no money, no car, and no wife. The rest of your life starts right now."
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I turned to the waiter, who was standing frozen near the swinging kitchen doors. "The bill for tonight’s dinner goes to the gentleman crying in the center chair. Have a wonderful evening, everyone."
I walked out of the dining room without looking back. Behind me, the sound of Margaret’s hysterical screaming and Claire’s furious shouting echoed down the hallway. It was the most beautiful music I had ever heard.
