Chapter 3 - The Transfer
The heavy cover of the leather folder fell open with a soft thud.
Inside rested a single, thick sheet of premium parchment paper.
It was stamped with the official seal of the state and heavily notarized.
Chloe scanned the text quickly, her expression remaining perfectly blank.
"The estate transfer is complete," the official stated clearly, his voice carrying across the utterly silent room.
"All assets, properties, and holding companies have been successfully reassigned."
Eleanor let out a sharp, incredulous gasp.
"Transfer?" Eleanor repeated, her voice rising in pitch and cracking slightly.
"What transfer? Whose estate?"
Chloe slowly turned the open leather folder around to face her future mother-in-law.
She held it perfectly steady so Eleanor could read the bold, black lettering at the top of the page.
Mason Family Estate - Absolute Transfer of Ownership.
Directly below that, on the line designated for the sole beneficiary, was a single name.
Chloe Mason.
Eleanor's eyes darted frantically across the page, desperately searching for a mistake.
Her face drained of all color, turning a sickly, translucent white.
"This is a forgery," Eleanor whispered, stumbling back a step as if the document had physically burned her.
"My late husband left everything to me in a blind trust until Liam turned thirty."
"Your husband left everything to a trust that required the primary steward to act in the family's best financial interest," Chloe corrected smoothly.
"He also included a strict morality clause regarding the gross mismanagement of corporate funds."
Chloe took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance Eleanor had just retreated.
"Funds that you have been secretly siphoning into offshore accounts to cover your gambling debts for the last five years."
A collective gasp echoed from the wedding guests seated in the front rows.
Liam finally pushed his way forward, looking frantically between his mother's pale face and the document.
"Chloe, what on earth is she talking about?" Liam demanded, his voice shaking with confusion.
"Are you trying to steal my family's money?"
Chloe looked at Liam with a heavy mixture of pity and deep exhaustion.
"I didn't steal anything, Liam," Chloe said softly.
"I quietly bought the massive debt your mother created, and the board unanimously voted to hand the estate over to its primary creditor to avoid bankruptcy."
May you like
Chloe closed the folder with a sharp, echoing snap.
"I own the company, the mansion you live in, and the very marble floor you are currently standing on."
