Chapter 2
The next day was a time when families should be visiting friends and celebrating together.
But at the Combs residence, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing.
I heard everything from my secret apartment, thanks to the miniature listening device Maggie had hidden in a corner of the living room at the Combs residence.
Yeah, I'd planned for this all along.
Ever since half a year ago, when Linda started giving me an even harder time, and Steven began arguing with me nonstop about Freya, I realized some things in this family were messed up beyond repair.
"That bitch. She's not answering my calls, and she blocked me on WhatsApp. What the hell is she doing?" Steven roared, his voice full of rage.
"Relax, Steve," Linda said, her tone thick with gloating. "Where could she possibly go? She's probably holed up in some hotel, bawling her eyes out.
"Once she blows through her cash and has nowhere left to run, she'll come crawling back with her tail between her legs. Just wait, I'll show her who's boss."
"Mom, something's not right," Steven said, panic creeping into his voice. "I just checked our joint account, and all the money is gone."
"What?" Linda shrieked, her voice going sharp enough to cut glass. "All gone? Didn't you say she put her salary in there every month? There should be at least a million or so in there."
"There's only... only a few thousand left. That's just my salary from last month," Steven stammered.
On the other end of the bug, I could hear frantic rummaging and Linda's hysterical shrieks of disbelief.
I slowly lifted my mug of hot coffee, watching the dawn break outside my window.
I'd moved that money into my own private account a month ago, all perfectly legit, claiming it was for a secret project at my company, Prime Insight Consulting.
Why should I let that pair of leeches blow through every cent I busted my ass to make?
*****
By ten in the morning, Steven had completely lost it. He showed up downstairs at my office building.
Prime Insight Consulting was a top-tier firm, located in the priciest tower in the central business district. Even during the Christmas holiday, there were always staff on duty.
When the receptionist called me, her voice was trembling with fear. "Ms. Arias, there's a Mr. Combs downstairs. He's trying to barge in, accusing you of embezzling money and running off, and he's demanding you come down and give him an explanation."
My tone was flat as I spoke into the phone, "What's he doing right now?"
"He's... He's yelling and making a scene in the lobby. A crowd's gathered to watch, and it's really bad for our image," she stammered.
"Got it." I hung up and immediately called the building's security department, "Hello, security? This is Joanna Arias from Prime Insight Consulting on the 28th floor.
"There's an unauthorized person in the lobby causing a disturbance, seriously disrupting our operations, and damaging our company's reputation. Could you please 'escort' him out according to protocol?"
I made sure to put extra emphasis on the word "escort."
A few minutes later, Maggie sent me a video.
In the video, Steven was being hauled out of the gleaming lobby by two burly security guards, each gripping an arm, dragging him along like yesterday's trash. He kept thrashing and cursing, screaming my name and accusing me of being a fraud.
The crowd watching, my coworkers and other businessmen, stared at Steven like he was some deranged clown putting on a show.
He'd lost every shred of dignity. This was the price he paid for his reckless outburst.
Meanwhile, Linda wasn't sitting idle. She called my mom.
Linda Combs's POV
As soon as Joanna's mom picked up, Linda's barrage of complaints exploded over the phone. "Mrs. Arias, you really need to keep your daughter in check. What did Steve ever do to deserve this?
"Just because I said a couple extra words at Christmas dinner, she had the nerve to give him an attitude and storm out overnight.
"And now, she's gone and taken all the money my son put aside for her. She's ungrateful, disrespectful, and totally out of line."
Joanna's mom was so stunned by Linda's shameless lies that she couldn't even respond, just worriedly asking what had really happened.
Just then, Joanna's dad, a retired professor at a college, took the phone from her.
His voice was always gentle, but it carried a calm, logical authority. "Hello, Mrs. Combs. It's Joanna's father. I'd like to ask you a few things."
Linda was taken aback for a moment.
He began, "First, as far as I know, it was your son who hit my daughter on Christmas, right in front of all the relatives.
"Instead of asking about her injuries or making your son apologize, you're the one demanding answers and blaming us? Is that how things are done in your family?
"Second, you keep insisting my daughter ran off with the money. But every cent in that joint account came from her salary. My daughter earns a million a year, while your son only makes three thousand a month.
"So, who's actually contributing to the savings? Joanna simply took back her own legal income. How does that make her a thief?
"Third, when a couple has issues, they should resolve them through communication. Your son chose violence.
"And as the elder, instead of mediating, you call my wife to throw around baseless accusations and insults. Is this the kind of upbringing and problem-solving you practice in the Combs family?"
His questions were like scalpels, cutting straight through Linda's tantrums and shameless excuses.
Linda was left speechless on the other end, finally stammering out, "I... I was just trying to teach Joanna a lesson."
"We've never so much as raised a hand to our daughter. She didn't marry into your family to be 'disciplined' by you. If you don't like her, you're welcome to divorce her anytime.
"The Arias family is more than capable of taking care of Joanna. And if your son ever touches her again, we'll see you in court." With that, Joanna's dad hung up decisively.
Joanna Arias's POV
Maggie relayed to me the recording of Linda's remarks at the Combs residence, and I combined it with my parents' replies. Listening to their full conversation, I felt my eyes sting a little.
This was my confidence and my source of courage. No matter what choices I made, my parents would always be my strongest support.
Maggie turned off the recording and handed me a new file. "I found it. Steven's been hitting everyone up for cash lately.
"He's got a $60,000 credit card bill, and the final payment's due in three days. If he misses it, it'll mess with his job."
I looked at the overdue notice in red on the report and let out a cold laugh. "The fish is about to take the bait."