Chapter 7
The second those words left my mouth, Jessica's face turned whiter than a sheet of printer paper.
She clearly thought that by playing the "saving a life is the priority" card, she would successfully seize the moral high ground and permanently shut me up.
She never anticipated that I would aggressively agree with her and immediately volley the massive financial grenade directly into her lap.
"I... I don't have that kind of cash lying around!" she shrieked defensively, a very real, undeniable panic leaking into her voice.
"That money... I already wired it to the escrow account! I signed the closing papers on the house!" she blurted out.
"Oh? Wow, that was incredibly fast," I said, raising a highly exaggerated, sarcastic eyebrow. "So you had the property picked out and the paperwork drafted ages ago, and you were just sitting around waiting for my husband to fund the transaction?"
"No, that's not..." Jessica stammered, her eyes darting around wildly in total panic.
"Not what?" I asked and took another aggressive step toward her. "Not a completely premeditated scheme?
"Jessica, you moved back here three years ago and aggressively inserted yourself back into David's life. Don't act like this was about anything other than his bank account.
"Years ago, you dumped him for a trust-fund kid because David was broke. And now that he finally built a successful career, you decide you want to come crawling back for a payday?
"What exactly do you view him as? Your own personal ATM?"
My words were like a surgical scalpel, perfectly slicing open the fake, innocent mask she had worn for years, exposing the greedy, toxic parasite underneath.
"You are lying!" Jessica shrieked, totally humiliated and losing her mind because I had hit the nail directly on the head. "David and I are truly, deeply in love!
"You are the problem! You are the miserable, bitter wife keeping him trapped! He was completely miserable with you!"
"Truly in love?" I echoed, laughing. "Is 'true love' aggressively stalking a man after he's already married to someone else?
"Is 'true love' manipulating him into committing financial fraud and stealing his family's savings to buy you real estate?
"Jessica, your version of love is incredibly lucrative. One text message and you cash out at three hundred grand."
Mary, who had been completely silent during this exchange, finally saw an opening.
When she realized the money had already been wired to an escrow account and was functionally gone, she completely panicked.
She lunged at Jessica, grabbing her wrist with an aggressive, desperate grip that completely contradicted her earlier protective demeanor.
"Jessica! You have to fix this!" she pleaded, her voice cracking with hysteria. "David is literally dying in there because of you! You cannot let him die!
"That house... can you cancel the contract? We need to pull that money out right now to pay the surgeons!"
She had just praised Jessica for being so much sweeter and more understanding than me. But the second the cold cash was on the line, she developed a sudden case of amnesia.
Jessica winced in pain as Mary's nails dug into her wrist. She forcefully yanked her arm away, looking at Mary with absolute disgust.
"Let go of me! The contracts are signed! The non-refundable deposit is cleared! How the hell am I supposed to back out now?
"If I breach the contract now, I will be hit with a massive financial penalty!"
"That penalty is better than my son dying on an operating table!" Mary wailed, tears streaming down her face. "That was three hundred thousand dollars! It wasn't spare change!
"Just pull the money out now! Once David survives the surgery and recovers, he can just earn the money back for you!"
"I..." Jessica stammered, physically backing away from Mary. She shot a desperate, pleading look at John and Sophia, begging for an intervention.
John's face was an ugly shade of gray, but he kept his mouth firmly shut.
Sophia looked incredibly conflicted, clearly wanting to defend Jessica but having absolutely no idea how to justify the situation.
The hallway had devolved into an absolute circus.
A mother was physically assaulting the mistress to cough up the stolen cash to save her son, and the mistress was aggressively guarding her stolen real estate funds like a dragon.
It was better than any trashy reality TV show I had ever seen.
I stood back and watched the pack of wild dogs tear each other apart, feeling absolutely nothing.
I retreated a few steps, leaned against the cold hospital wall, and pulled out my phone to start researching high-powered divorce attorneys.
After David hit the floor, my marriage was officially dead and buried from the exact second I saw that wire transfer receipt.
My priority was no longer arguing with these sociopaths. My priority was securing the absolute maximum financial compensation for myself and my son.
I wanted a divorce.
And I didn't just want a divorce. I was going to make sure David walked away with absolutely nothing.
And I was going to legally pursue Jessica and force her to return every single cent she stole from my marital assets, with interest.
That money belonged to me and Adam. No one else was going to touch it.
I quickly found a highly-rated corporate law firm that specialized in high-asset divorce and financial fraud. I skimmed their recent case victories and noted their exceptional reviews.
I saved the partner's direct line, planning to call them the second the sun came up.
Just as I locked my phone screen, the heavy doors to the ICU violently burst open.
A panicked nurse sprinted out into the hallway.
"Where is David Lewis' family? The patient's condition just rapidly deteriorated! His heart rate is plummeting! We need to operate immediately, or he will not survive!" the nurse shouted.
Her words hit the hallway like a live grenade, instantly silencing the screaming match.
Everyone froze.
Mary reacted first. She violently shoved Jessica aside and threw herself at the nurse.
"Nurse! Please, you have to save my son! We will pay the money! Start the surgery right now!" Mary shrieked.
She violently whipped her head around, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes. "Emma! Did you hear her? Go sell the damn house! Go sell it right now!"
Her glare was so venomous. It explicitly stated that if I didn't immediately liquidate my assets, I was actively murdering her son.
Jessica let out a massive, visible sigh of relief, using the distraction to quickly step backward into the shadows, entirely wiping her hands of the situation.
I slowly slid my phone into my pocket, lifted my chin, and met Mary's predatory glare without blinking.
I looked at her and calmly shifted my gaze to Jessica, John, and Sophia.
Finally, I looked directly at the panicked nurse.
I spoke slowly, ensuring every single syllable was crystal clear.
"I already told you. I do not have the money.
"Whether he lives or dies is completely irrelevant to me."