Chapter 3 - The Ohio Receipts
Julian stumbled back against the kitchen island, his expensive Tom Ford jacket now stained with yellow broth.
"If... if you own the penthouse, then where has my mother been sending the mortgage money every single month?" he demanded.
I turned my gaze toward Eleanor, who was trying desperately to blend into the shadows of the hallway.
"Why don't you ask her yourself, Julian?" I suggested, pulling my smartphone from my pocket and tapping the screen.
I flipped the phone around, displaying bank statement record printouts sent directly from my private investigator in Columbus, Ohio.
"Your mother opened a secondary account at Chase Bank under your brother Marcus's name," I explained with terrifying precision.
"Every single wire transfer of twenty-five thousand dollars you sent her was immediately routed to a construction firm in Franklin County."
"Marcus has been building a six-bedroom mansion on twelve acres of land with your hard-earned money while you ate cheap ramen here."
Julian turned to his mother, his jaw dropping as tears of rage and disbelief welled up in his eyes.
"Mom... is this true?" Julian asked, his voice cracking like that of a confused, betrayed child.
"Marcus was in trouble, Julian!" Eleanor screeched, suddenly dropping her fake aristocratic persona entirely.
"He has three kids! He needed a proper home! You have a high-paying executive job in Manhattan, so you can always make more!"
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"You stole from me!" Julian roared, slamming his fists onto the granite island so hard a crystal glass shattered.
"You let me think I was supporting our family while you funded Marcus's luxury lifestyle!"
