Chapter 3
On the Third Day of the New Year, I went to Cousin Emily's place.
I printed out all the screenshots and bank statements, made a hefty stack, and set them right in front of her.
Cousin Emily flipped through them for half an hour.
Then she took off her glasses and looked at me.
"Your dad's been hiding this pretty well," she said.
"Can we get it back?" I asked.
"He used joint marital property and sent it to someone outside the marriage without your mom knowing," Cousin Emily explained. "Legally, your mom can get it back."
"There's something else," I said.
I handed her my phone.
It was the latest chat between Dad and Grace.
"Take a look at this message," I said.
Cousin Emily took the phone and read it.
The message was sent before the New Year.
Grace: [When will the redevelopment compensation come through? Harry's about to start high school, and I want to send him to a private prep school.]
Dad: [It's coming soon. I'll sign the papers after the New Year. Don't worry, I won't let you down.]
Grace: [Can we put the house under Harry's name? You really should give Harry official recognition in the family.]
Dad: [I've thought about it. Once the redevelopment is complete, I'll bring Harry home so he can be officially accepted by the family.]
'Formally recognized as part of the family.'
Cousin Emily's expression darkened.
"He wants to split the redevelopment compensation with them?" she asked.
"Not just that. He wants that kid formally recognized as part of the family," I said.
Cousin Emily was silent for a few seconds.
"How much is the redevelopment compensation for your old house?" she asked.
"Mom said the appraisal was about 933,000 dollars, and with the relocation compensation, it might go up to about 1.07 million dollars," I replied.
"1.07 million dollars, huh," Cousin Emily echoed.
"He wants to split the 1.07 million dollars with them?" she asked.
"At least half," I said. "He even said in the chat, 'Fifty-fifty, that's fair.'"
Fair, huh.
He really thinks that's fair.
Mom had been scrimping and saving for thirty years, never even buying herself a decent down jacket.
And now he wanted to split the redevelopment compensation with his mistress.
'Fair? What a joke,' I thought.
"Cousin Emily," I said, "the redevelopment compensation hasn't come through yet. I want to do everything I can before it does."
Cousin Emily looked at me.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
"I want to make sure not a single cent of that money ends up in his hands," I said.
Cousin Emily stayed silent.
After a while, she smiled.
"Okay. I'll help you," she said.
She pulled out a pen and paper.
"First, whose name is on the deed for your parents' old house?" she asked.
"My dad's," I replied.
"We need to change that. Before the redevelopment agreement is signed, we have to put Mom's name on the deed, or transfer the ownership directly to Mom."
"He won't agree to that."
"That's why we can't let him know," Emily said, looking at me. "Is your mom willing to go along with this?"
"She is."
I had already asked Mom before I came over.
After hearing all the numbers, 573,000 dollars, Mom only said one thing.
"Tell me what to do, and I'll go along with it," she said.
She didn't cry.
I saw something in her eyes I'd never seen before.
It wasn't sadness.
It was cold, like ice.
"Also," Cousin Emily said, "the 573,000 dollars your dad transferred can be used as evidence that he moved marital assets. When it comes to the divorce, your mom can ask for a bigger share."
"Not a bigger share," I said.
Cousin Emily looked at me.
"I want him to leave with nothing," I said.
*****
On the Fourth Day of the New Year, Dad came back.
He acted like nothing had ever happened.
He didn't mention a single word about what went down on New Year's Eve.
He thought time would make everyone forget.
He figured Mom would keep turning a blind eye, like she had for the past five years.
He thought I'd play dumb, too.
What he didn't know was that I'd already started taking action.
On the Fifth Day of the New Year, I met up with Mom and we headed over to Cousin Emily's law firm.
Cousin Emily already had everything mapped out.
"Step one: transfer the property," she said.
She pulled out a stack of documents.
"Your old house is built on a family homestead, so the ownership is a bit complicated. But as long as your dad is willing to sign, we can add your mom as a co-owner, or transfer the whole thing to her," she explained.
"He won't sign," I said.
"Make him sign. You just need a good reason."
I paused to think.
"The redevelopment," I said.
Cousin Emily nodded.
"Exactly. Tell your dad the redevelopment authority said co-owners get a larger compensation payment. Make him think putting Mom's name on the deed is all about getting more money," she said.
"You think he'll fall for that?" I asked.
"He definitely will," She replied. "He's greedy, after all."
She knew his type all too well.
People like him will sign anything if they think there's more money in it.
"Step two: your mom's bank accounts," Cousin Emily continued.
Cousin Emily kept going.
"All the money your mom's saved over the years is sitting in accounts under your dad's name. We need to move every single dollar out."
"How do we do that?"
"Have your mom go straight to the bank with her ID and marriage certificate, and pull out every dollar from the joint accounts."
"Is she really allowed to do that?"
"It's marital property, so she has every right to get it out," Cousin Emily replied. "But you need to move fast. If your dad figures out what you're doing, he'll try to get there first.
"Step three: getting ready for the divorce lawsuit."
She handed me a list.
"These are the things you need to gather ahead of time. Chat logs, bank statements, property records, and if you can manage it, the birth certificate for the mistress's kid," she explained.
"Where do we get the birth certificate?" I asked.
"Based on the chat logs, the woman's name is Grace Williams and she lives in the Eastside District. You need to confirm her identity and address."