From Fake Divorce to Real Fortune Novel – Chapter 4
John and Margaret were shattered.
Not just by John’s stroke, but by the depth of their son’s betrayal.
The shame they felt was a palpable thing in the sterile hospital corridors.
“Emily, my dear,” Margaret said one evening, her voice thick with unshed tears, her hand trembling as she clutched mine.
“We … we had no idea. That boy … he’s no son of ours anymore.”
John, his speech still slurred but his eyes clear and full of a new, fierce protectiveness towards me, nodded slowly from his hospital bed.
A few days later, after John was moved to a rehab facility, Margaret sat me down at their kitchen table.
She slid a bank statement across to me.
“John and I talked. This is our retirement savings. About a hundred thousand. We want you to have it.”
I started to protest, a lump forming in my throat. This was too much.
“No, Emily. Don’t say a word.” Her gaze was firm.
“You’ve been more of a daughter to us than Jack was ever a son. You’re family. This money … use it for John’s care, for Sophia, for yourself. Rebuild. He took from you, from all of us. This is the least we can do.”
The sincerity in her eyes was overwhelming.
They had disowned their only child and embraced me, the woman he’d conned and abandoned.
I managed a watery, “Thank you.”
Inside, a cold, hard part of me cataloged the sum. It was a significant addition to my own funds.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was about building an empire on the ashes of Jack’s deceit.
I would make sure Sophia, and John and Margaret, were secure.
They were my family now. The only one that mattered.