Chapter 2
Andrew's dad, Richard, had kept up appearances for the company all these years. But in reality, the accounts had been empty for a long time.
Their key projects were all running on Greenfield Capital's money and reputation.
Now, with the money gone and their credit under review, the Foster family's celebration was about to blow up in their faces.
My phone pinged with another notification.
Andrew's sister, Emily Foster, had posted an update.
It had nine photos. A group shot in the VIP lounge. Champagne in first class. Madison cozied up to Andrew for a selfie. Helen Foster, Andrew's mom, rocking sunglasses and flashing a peace sign.
The caption: [Congrats to my brother for finally ditching the dead weight! Welcome, Madison, to our family! Some people finally stopped hogging their spot.]
The comments section was blowing up.
Someone wrote: [Congrats, Andrew!]
Another person commented: [Madison's way better than the ex.]
Helen replied: [Madison's so thoughtful. She handled all the flights and hotel bookings. Unlike the last one, who just had an attitude.]
Madison replied: [As long as you like it, Helen. I'll put in even more effort from now on.]
After reading through everything, I clicked into the comments.
I slowly typed out a line. [Have fun, take lots of pictures. You'll want to remember this.]
I sent it.
Because all this glitz and glamour was about to become a punchline.
"Mrs. Evans asked me to bring you these documents." As soon as I walked into Lakeview Heights, the security guard at the gate came over to greet me.
Lakeview Heights was one of the priciest neighborhoods in the city.
My mom owned a 5,166-square-foot penthouse here.
After I got married, I hardly ever came back.
The Foster family always thought my family ran a couple of regular clinics.
Helen used to say, "With your family's humble background, you should count yourself lucky to marry into the Foster family."
Looking back now, it was honestly laughable.
Not long after I walked in, the doorbell rang.
On the screen, a man and a woman stood waiting.
The man looked to be in his forties, dressed in a sharp suit.
The woman was holding a folder of documents.
The man said, "Ms. Evans, I'm Ethan Quinn, legal counsel for Greenfield Capital. This is my colleague, Sophie Turner. We're here on your mother's behalf to handle your asset transfer."
I opened the door.
Ethan came in and skipped the small talk.
He set the documents down on the table. "Mrs. Evans asked us to tell you three things. First, the remaining mortgage on your apartment in the old district has been fully paid off."
He handed me the payoff certificate.
He continued, "Second, these are the details of the personal trust Mrs. Evans managed for you before you got married. Now that you're single again, control will be transferred back to you within thirty days."
Sophie opened the folder.
She spread out the pages one by one.
Two commercial properties downtown, worth 270 million dollars.
Dividend rights from Greenfield Capital's early projects, valued at 200 million dollars.
Shares in several listed companies, with a market value of over 300 million dollars.
Cash and investments, totaling 116 million dollars.
Artwork and real estate, valued at 60 million dollars.
All of these added up to about 950 million dollars.
I stared at that final number, my finger hovering over the paper.
I asked, "All of this is mine?"
Ethan nodded. "Mrs. Evans said she started preparing this for you on your twentieth birthday. She wanted to make sure that no matter who you married, you'd never have to rely on anyone else."
My throat tightened.
Ethan continued, "Third, Mrs. Evans asked me to give you a few cards."
Sophie took out a black cardholder.
She said, "This is your personal black card. This one is the Greenfield Capital business card. And this one is for your overseas backup account, worth about 70 million dollars."
As I looked at those cards, I suddenly remembered what Helen had said to me before the wedding. "Charlotte, once you marry into our family, you need to learn to be frugal. The Foster family's money isn't just handed out."
It turned out they were the ones who should've learned to be frugal.
I asked, "Did my mom say anything else?"
Ethan smiled. "Mrs. Evans said you should get a good night's sleep first. Starting tomorrow, however you want to vent, she's got your back."
I smiled too. "Then, Ethan, could you pass on a message for me?"
"Go ahead."
"Tell my mom that once I've slept, I'll take care of things myself."
Ethan nodded. "Mrs. Evans will be happy to hear that."
After they left, I opened Emily's post.
Helen was showing off again in the comments.
Helen: [Madison is so thoughtful. She said she'd take me shopping for jewelry. The last one spent three years in our family and never gave me a decent gift.]
Madison replied: [You deserve the best, Helen.]
I took a screenshot.
Then I replied: [Swiping your card overseas is easy, but make sure you know your credit limit. Otherwise, the bill might stick with you longer than the scenery.]
After sending it, I turned off my phone.
On the coffee table lay documents worth 950 million dollars.
On my phone, the Foster family was busy showing off.
Honestly, this divorce was worth every penny.
At least now I could see things clearly. Some people weren't even worth me stooping for.
*****
By the third day, news about Foster Healthcare started blowing up.
Zoe called me, "Ms. Evans, Foster Healthcare's stock keeps tanking. The partner bank showed up this morning and put three projects on hold."
I asked, "What about Richard?"
"He's been trying to reach Mrs. Evans. She only answered once."
"What did she say?"
Zoe was barely holding back a laugh. "Mrs. Evans said, 'Mr. Foster, our partnership's up. We're just wrapping things up. My daughter's single now, so we're not family anymore.'"
I could picture Richard's reaction. He must be totally lost.
How could a daughter-in-law he never took seriously get Greenfield Capital to pull out with just a word?
And he probably couldn't figure out how the "ordinary in-laws" he thought he knew actually had Foster Healthcare by the throat.
I asked, "What about Andrew?"
Zoe replied, "He's still overseas. They went to a jewelry store last night. Helen picked out a necklace, and Madison had to swipe two cards to pay for it.
"This morning, the hotel told them they needed to pay extra for their deposit. Richard already canceled several of Andrew's supplementary cards."