Chapter 16
“Divorce? Fine. What are the terms?” I asked, spitting out a rib bone.
Excited, he blurted, “You can keep the kid. I won’t even ask for visitation rights!”
I sneered. “Not sincere enough. Get ready for boiled green flies tonight.”
He flinched. “But that’s what you asked for before. You said all you wanted was the child…”
I blamed my sister in my heart again.
What a coward. She’d built half this household, carried most of the mortgage and living expenses, yet she’d agreed to leave with nothing?
No wonder she’d never managed to divorce him. Alex had always held custody of Chloe over her head, forcing her to stay.
But this time, it was me negotiating.
And I wasn’t about to lose.
Alex tried again. “Then… child support? Maybe three hundred dollars a month? Five hundred?”
I slammed a glass onto the table. Shards flew.
“What the hell? Are you trying to fob me off with crumbs? You think I’ve never seen real money before?”
Terrified, he hopped back on his one good leg. “N–no, calm down! How about two thousand?”
That made me sit back down. Two thand wasn’t much, but it was the most he could realistically manage.
“Two thousand a month until Chloe turns eighteen. That’s 312,000 dollars in total. Round it up to 320,000, paid in one lump sum.”
He grimaced. “That’s some creative rounding…”
I smacked the table. “You questioning my math skills?”
“N–no! Perfectly calculated! But… we don’t have that much cash at home. Can I pay monthly?” He gave me a pitiful smile.
“Not acceptable.” I snapped.
At that point, Susan dared to step in.
“Who has such a considerable sum of money lying around? Can’t you lower it?”
I grinned. “You have! Didn’t your husband’s fatal accident bring in nearly eight hundred thousand dollars in compensation? The money’s all in your hands, isn’t it?”
“What?!” Alex and Amelie gasped.
“Mom, you told us it was only four hundred thousand!”
Susan’s face twisted with panic.
Of course I knew. I’d learned all about compensation standards from a car accident patient back at the asylum.
She still tried to deny it. “No, it was four hundred thousand exactly! I gave each of you ten, and I lost the rest gambling.”
Amelie sneered. “You’re too stingy to gamble away everything. You’ve hidden money.”
Alex groaned. “We’re also Dad’s legal heirs. Whatever’s left needs to be divided fairly!”
I had no interest in their family drama. I turned to head for bed.
But clearly, they had something nastier planned.
