Part 3: The Curtains Fall
"Eight years ago," I said, taking slow, deliberate steps across the living room, the click of my heels commanding authority, "when I told you I was pregnant, you called me a trap. You said you wouldn't let your successful life be ruined by a poor woman and a needy child. You packed your bags that very night, leaving me with an empty bank account and a divorce ultimatum."
I turned to face Marcus, my gaze as cold as the Boulder snow outside.
"Do you know what the doctor told me right after you left? It wasn’t just one baby. It was four. I had to endure a high-risk quadruplet pregnancy entirely alone. I worked up until the day I went into labor, crying myself to sleep wondering how I would afford formula."
"Cynthia... I..." Marcus muttered, taking a frail step forward to reach for my hand. But the four children immediately stepped in, forming a protective wall in front of me. My second son, Max, glared at him with a fierce determination that mirrored my own.
"Don't touch our mommy!" Max growled.
Chloe witnessed the scene, then looked down at the diamond ring in Marcus's hand. The bitter realization hit her that she had almost fallen into a trap of her own. "Marcus, you invited her here today... didn't you say it was because she was a miserable failure? You wanted her to watch you propose to me so she'd know her 'rightful place.' Turns out, the only pathetic one here is you!"
"Chloe, please! That's not true! I love you, I wanted to give you the best life!" Marcus pleaded desperately, trying to hold her arm.
"The best life built on a mountain of debt?" I interrupted coldly, tossing another thick folder onto the coffee table. "Here is my second gift to you, Marcus. My financial firm just bought out your company’s delinquent debts. In other words, I am now your primary creditor. This house belonging to your mother, the Mercedes you drive... everything is on the foreclosure list."
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Marcus dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't comprehend how the helpless, broke ex-wife he had discarded was now standing before him, owning a private helicopter and holding the financial survival of his entire family in her hands.
Evelyn swayed, nearly fainting. She looked at me with begging eyes. "Cynthia... please... they are still Reynolds blood... You can't be this cruel..."
