Daniel slammed his hand on the table.
“Watch your mouth.”
I turned to him calmly.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m getting to you next.”
The room suddenly felt 10 degrees colder, and the real destruction hadn’t even started yet.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Victoria was still staring at the papers spread across the glass table, her hands trembling slightly as she flipped through the documents one by one. The IRS audit notice, the credit card statements, the developer’s $8 million offer. Every lie she had carefully constructed over the past few years now sat exposed in black and white.
My mother finally broke the silence.
“Victoria,” Margaret whispered, her voice tight. “Tell me this isn’t true.”
Victoria swallowed hard.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
Daniel scoffed.
“Of course it’s not,” he said quickly, glaring at me. “Olivia probably fabricated all of this.”
Jonathan Pierce calmly slid another document across the table.
Official IRS letterhead. Audit case number. Federal investigator contact information.
Daniel stopped talking.
My mother’s eyes widened as she read the first paragraph.
“Victoria,” she repeated slowly.
My sister suddenly slammed the papers onto the table.
“This is ridiculous,” she snapped.
She turned toward me, her eyes blazing with anger.
“You think digging up private financial information makes you clever?”
I leaned back in my chair.
“No. I think committing federal tax fraud makes you careless.”
Her face turned red.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I do,” I replied calmly. “You fabricated hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake business expenses.”
I pointed to the IRS notice.
“And now the government wants it back.”
Daniel stepped forward again.
“You’re bluffing,” he said.
“I’m really not.”
Jonathan quietly placed another sheet of paper in front of him.
Daniel glanced down. Then his expression changed, because the document contained the email chain between Victoria and the tech development company.
Offer amount: $8 million.
My mother leaned forward quickly.
“$8 million?”
She looked between Victoria and me in confusion.
“What is this?”
I answered before my sister could.
“Victoria promised to sell them my land.”
Margaret blinked.
“But she doesn’t own that property.”
“Exactly.”
Victoria’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood up.
“You’re twisting everything.”
Her voice echoed through the glass conference room.
“I was helping you, Olivia.”
“Helping me steal my inheritance.”
“I was offering you a fair deal.”
Daniel quickly stepped beside her.
“You should be thanking her,” he added. “$8 million is more money than you’ve ever seen in your life.”
I almost laughed. Instead, I slowly reached into my bag and pulled out another document. Then I slid it across the table.
Jonathan remained silent beside me.
Victoria grabbed the page and scanned it quickly. At first, she looked confused. Then her eyes widened. Her entire face went pale.
“What is this?” she whispered.
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