I looked at the man my sister was about to marry. He was wealthy, highly educated, and completely morally bankrupt. Why, I demanded stepping forward. Why would you risk federal prosecution to hand half a million dollars to a failing businessman? What possible return on investment do you get from funding a fake engagement party? Terrence let out a dark, booming laugh. Control, Caroline.
Absolute unquestionable control. He set his glass down on the desk with a sharp clink and stepped into my personal space. The scent of his expensive cologne mixed with the heavy smell of bourbon. ‘Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to marry a woman from a genuinely wealthy family?’ Terrence asked, his voice dropping to a harsh, calculating register.
‘They come with aggressive prenuptual agreements. They come with demanding fathers and teams of corporate lawyers who scrutinize every single asset. They expect to be treated as equals. I do not want an equal. I want a beautiful, compliant wife who does exactly what she is told. The terrifying reality of his psychological manipulation became crystal clear.
He had deliberately trapped my family in a web of financial crime. By holding this fraudulent loan over their heads, you own them,’ I said, my voice laced with disgust. ‘You turned my parents into your puppets. They are my pets,’ Terrence corrected viciously. ‘As long as that half million dollar debt is sitting in my desk drawer, Richard and Brenda will never cross me.
They will never demand anything from the Jefferson estate. They will smile, they will nod, and they will force Britney to be the perfect obedient little bride. If she ever steps out of line, all I have to do is mention the word wire fraud, and her parents go to federal prison. They are bought and paid for.
He was a monster wearing a designer suit. He had weaponized my identity to enslave my entire family, and they were too blinded by their own greed to realize they had sold their souls to a tyrant. ‘You are just as pathetic as they are,’ I said, my voice steady and unwavering. ‘You bypassed your own father’s strict compliance regulations.
Warren Jefferson built his real estate empire on absolute integrity. He fires executives for minor accounting errors. If he finds out you used his corporate treasury to buy yourself a compliant set of in-laws, he will not just strip you of your title, he will disown you. Terren’s smug smile finally vanished.
