Chapter 4 - The Confrontation
Silence fell over the opulent library like a heavy blanket.
I turned to look at Marcus, who had suddenly gone completely rigid.
"What are you talking about, Stephanie?" I demanded.
My sister let out a hysterical, breathless laugh.
"Oh, did the perfect history teacher forget to mention his little incident in Chicago?" she sneered.
My mother quickly stepped in front of Stephanie, trying to play the peacemaker.
"Now, let's all just calm down and handle this like a family," my mother pleaded.
"We are not a family, Susan," I snapped, keeping my eyes fixed on my sister.
Eleanor watched the exchange with the intense focus of a hawk tracking its prey.
"Speak up, Stephanie, I despise mysteries," the matriarch commanded.
Stephanie crossed her arms, a triumphant smirk finally breaking through her panic.
"Five years ago, Marcus was fired from his previous school for stealing funds from the student council," she announced.
The words hung in the air, toxic and heavy.
I looked at Marcus, waiting for him to immediately deny it.
Instead, he looked down at the expensive Persian rug, his jaw clenched tight.
"Marcus?" I whispered, my heart suddenly beating too fast.
"It's not what she's making it sound like, Amanda," he said quietly.
Stephanie laughed again, a cruel sound that filled the room.
"A thief married a thief's sister, how perfectly poetic," she mocked.
Eleanor stood up, signaling that the meeting was over.
"I have heard enough from all of you," Eleanor declared.
"The trust remains frozen, and I will be calling my legal team in the morning."
My mother burst into fresh tears, grabbing Eleanor's sleeve.
"Please, Mrs. Sterling, we will pay it all back, just give us time!" she begged.
Eleanor pulled her arm away in disgust.
"Get out of my house before I have security throw you out," she ordered.
As my mother and sister were escorted out, Stephanie turned back to look at me.
"He's a liar, Amanda, just like the rest of us," she hissed.
I stood frozen in the library, the foundation of my new marriage suddenly cracking beneath my feet.
My phone buzzed in my pocket with an incoming text message.
May you like
It was from Derek.
"I know about the money, I need to see you right now without Stephanie knowing."
