PART 2: THE BAIT OF GREED
The silence stretching across the private recovery room carried a crushing pressure. Damon desperately tried to claw back his composure, clearing his throat to make his voice sound wounded. “Marin, what on earth are you talking about? I’m just trying to arrange the best postpartum treatment for you at a private medical estate after you get discharged.”
“Drop the act, Damon,” Marin said, leaning back against her pillows. The formidable presence of the brilliant corporate attorney who used to make multi-billion-dollar conglomerates tremble had returned, entirely dominating the room. “And that goes for you too, Celeste.”
Richard frowned, looking at his daughter with deep disapproval. “Marin, you just gave birth. Do not hurl baseless accusations at your husband and stepmother.”
“Do you even know what day after tomorrow is, Dad?” Marin completely bypassed Richard’s reprimand, looking at him with profound disappointment. “It’s my thirty-second birthday. And you’ve completely forgotten the core clause of Mom’s will.”
Hearing this, Celeste’s grip on her designer handbag tightened so forcefully that her knuckles turned stark white.
Marin continued, her voice level and unshakeable. “Mom didn't just leave me liquid assets. She left me absolute voting control and forty-five percent shares of the Sterling family trust the moment I turn thirty-two. That means in less than forty-eight hours, I am the one who holds the financial lifeblood of this entire empire. Not you, Dad, and certainly not your new wife.”
Richard sat back, utterly stunned. The massive influx of financial audits and corporate responsibilities over the years had caused him to completely forget the legal milestone his late wife had masterfully engineered to protect their daughter.
“Damon knew it. And Celeste knew it even better,” Marin said, casting a freezing glance at the two accomplices standing petrified by the window. “The two of you have been sleeping together for the past two years. Your plan was flawless: wait until I gave birth, exploit my physical and mental vulnerability, and force me to sign a 'postpartum care' proxy. But buried in those documents is a clause transferring my voting rights and entire stock shares to Damon, under the guise that I am suffering from severe postpartum depression and lack legal capacity.”
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“You... you are lying! Richard, don’t listen to her!” Celeste panicked, grabbing her husband's arm as her voice pitched up in terror.
“Am I lying?” Marin calmly reached for the tablet resting on her bedside table, pressing a single button. “Dad, would you like to hear a recording from six o'clock this morning? While I was literally opened up on a surgical table, a call was placed from Damon's phone to Celeste's. They were actively discussing how to heavily sedate me after delivery so I would sign the papers without asking questions. And that four thousand dollars a month you mentioned? That is the exact amount Damon has been secretly funneling from our joint account into Celeste’s private offshore account for the past year.”
