Chapter 4 - The Voice on the Line
"Daniel?" Claire whispered, her voice cracking as the sheer impossibility of the situation hit her.
"What are you doing on this line?" she demanded, attempting to regain her condescending tone.
"Did you break into the office to play some kind of pathetic prank on my family?"
I leaned back in my leather chair, looking out over the city skyline.
"I didn't break in, Claire, I built this building," I replied calmly.
"I am the founder, sole owner, and CEO of Whitaker Construction, the company that has been keeping your entire bloodline afloat."
She let out a harsh, nervous laugh, a desperate attempt to reject the terrifying new reality.
"You're a handyman," she spat, though her voice trembled. "You drive a rusted truck and wear muddy boots."
"I drove a rusted truck because you begged me to hide my wealth so your father wouldn't feel inferior," I reminded her coldly.
"I wore muddy boots because I actually work for a living, unlike the forty-seven parasites I just legally severed from my payroll."
I heard frantic whispering in the background as Martin grabbed the phone from her hands.
"Listen to me, you little blue-collar piece of trash," Martin snarled, his bravado severely dented but still active.
"I don't know how you hacked this system, but I am going to ruin you in court."
"Claire is going to take every wrench, every truck, and every dime you have in alimony."
He bragged that their lawyers were already drafting the paperwork to seize my assets.
"You should really read the documents you force people to sign, Martin," I said softly.
I pulled out the manila folder Claire had aggressively shoved into my chest the night before.
"Claire didn't just hand me divorce papers last night, she handed me a heavily modified separation agreement."
I flipped to the fourth page, staring at her hurried, messy signature at the bottom.
"When your lawyers drafted this, they assumed I had zero assets, so they included a strict 'no-contest waiver of alimony' to protect Claire from having to pay me."
The line went completely dead quiet as Martin realized what his own legal team had done.
"By aggressively forcing me to sign it on Christmas Eve to humiliate me, she legally waived her right to my entire corporate empire."
Martin dropped the phone, and I could hear it clattering against the hardwood floor.
In the background, Claire began to scream hysterically.
May you like
I hung up the phone and pressed the button for my intercom.
"Security," I instructed calmly, "prepare for an unauthorized breach attempt at the main gates tomorrow morning."
