Chapter 5 - Seizing the Assets
The loud, mechanical grinding of gears echoed through the driveway. The tow truck driver was backing up toward the two large company vehicles Jason and his cousins had driven to the lake.
Jason’s father jumped up from his patio chair, his face turning purple. “Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Those trucks belong to us!”
Marcus turned and looked at him with a predatory smile. “Actually, sir, they belong to Parker Landscaping Holdings.”
Marcus then turned his gaze to my soon-to-be ex-husband. “And because company property was used without authorization while Mr. Parker was intoxicated, and because he engaged in documented physical misconduct, my client has exercised her contractual right to suspend his access to all company assets, pending an emergency board review.”
Jason’s face went entirely blank. His brain was short-circuiting as he realized the magnitude of the trap he had just sprung on himself.
Linda whipped her head toward me, her voice shrill with panic. “You wouldn’t dare! You can't do this to our business!”
I smiled, a cold, empty expression. “You were laughing pretty loudly ten minutes ago, Linda. I thought this family liked jokes.”
Nobody answered. The reality of their absolute ruin was suffocating them.
Jason took a desperate step toward me, reaching for my arm. “Megan, wait—”
I stepped back instantly, my eyes flashing with a terrifying, unyielding warning. “Don’t touch me.”
For once in his miserable life, he listened. His hand dropped to his side.
Behind us, the tow truck began lifting the first company vehicle into the air. His family stood around the freezing pool in stunned, horrifying silence. The exact same people who had watched me struggle underwater, laughing at my humiliation, were suddenly realizing the truth: I had paid for the house, I had secretly saved their business, and I had spent nine years protecting people who had never once respected me.
Jason looked down at the glittering wedding ring sitting next to his whiskey glass. Tears of panic welled in his eyes. “Megan, come on. Please. It was just a joke.”
I looked at the freezing, dark water of the pool. Then I looked at him.
“No, Jason,” I said softly. “That was your marriage.”
I picked up the handle of my suitcase and walked toward my car. Behind me, the chaos finally erupted. Linda started shouting hysterically. Jason screamed my name. His cousins tried uselessly arguing with the property manager and the security guards.
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I never turned around.
Because climbing out of that freezing pool had finally taught me the exact lesson Jason had wanted me to learn. I remembered my place. It just wasn’t beside him anymore.
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