Page 171 of Priceless

Micah spun. “As for you. Your lawyer folded. Confidentiality doesn’t cover these crimes. On top of the espionage, you’re being charged with forgery, fraud, and assault. I’m sure there’s a few other things in there too.”

“Oh, for sure,” Cam said with a laugh. “Too many to memorize. You know how it is.”

Two more police officers came for my uncle, and he was too stunned to fight them or resist. On his face, there was utter defeat. It loosened something deep in my chest. Healed it. He made this bed, now he had to lie in it. It was possible he’d be buried in it.

They were halfway to the door with my uncle when Cameron called after them. “Oh, and there are people taking possession of the Caldwell Estate as we speak. It doesn’t belong to you.” Turning back to my aunt. “Any possessions will be delivered to you, Laura, as soon as you notify us of your new address.”

My aunt, stricken though she was, melted in relief. “You’re not charging me?”

“No,” I said.

Straightening, she nodded once. “At least you’ve done one good thing. Thank you for recognizing that I was trying to help you.”

The laugh came out of me so quickly I had to cover my mouth. She stared at me, and I kept laughing. It was so forceful tears came to my eyes. My voice was still shaking with it when I started to speak. “I’m not recognizing anything, Laura. The reason I’m choosing not to send you to prison for the rest of your life is that this is far, far worse.”

She frowned. “What?”

“Did you hear them?” I asked. “You can’t go back to the Caldwell Estate. And they might have skipped over this bit, but all the Caldwell accounts have been frozen until they can be transferred to my name. You have no home, and no money. But I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“I—”

“The real trust my mother made for me. Your sister. Has a little gift of money for you, as a thank you for taking care of me. Because I’m not like you, I’ll make sure you get that. But nothing more.”

I walked toward her, and I’d never felt more powerful. She was small in comparison. Relief shook along my limbs. My voice was low and even. “But the real reason I’m not sending you to prison isn’t because I want to see you poor and homeless, Laura. It’s because I know that me sending you to prison would be the last nail in the coffin of your bitterness. You’d use it to convince yourself that you were right. I’m just your fat, lazy, piece of shit niece who never appreciated anything and never did anything right. So I’m not sending you there. I’m letting you go free.

“You’ll be living your life, whatever life you have left, without Frank. You’ll have to scrape for what you have and go without, exactly like I had to while I was living under your care. And the humiliation of having to do something as menial as work for a living, knowing that you have to be grateful to me not being in prison, is ten times worse than locking you up where you can rot with your own thoughts and hate me.”

For the first time, she truly looked afraid. Her eyes flicked past me to Frank. His head was bowed, and there was something like shame on his face, though I had no way of knowing whether it was real.

“Frank?” Her voice wavered. “What do I do?”

The officers began to read him his rights, walking him out through the ballroom.

“Frank, what do I do?” Her shriek echoed loudly.

“Whatever you do,” Everett said, “do it somewhere else. You’re not welcome in our home. Get out, don’t come back, and pray you find somewhere to stay that doesn’t put locks between you and your food.”

She looked at me, eyes watery. Her hands wrung in front of her. “Ocean, please.”

“Hold on to this feeling for later,” I said. “So you know how helpless and furious I’ve felt since you took over my life. And understand, finally, that this is what it’s like to be truly disposable.”

Laura jerked back like I’d struck her. For one solitary moment, I saw desolation in her gaze. Then she stood perfectly straight and schooled her face before she strode out through the ballroom and didn’t look back.

Cameron waved to the guests. “We’ll be right out. Sorry for the interruption.” He looked at the security. “Find Marcella and tell her to make sure the catering staff are circulating with food.”

“Yes, sir.”

The doors closed behind him, and we all blew out a collective breath.

“Fucking hell, princess,” Micah said, breaking into a smile. “You were fucking incredible.”

Power lined my body. I felt like I could jump over the ocean all the way back to Grecia on my own. And still, there was a tinge of pain. “I feel incredible. But is it normal to be a little sad too?”

Raina cleared her throat. I’d nearly forgotten she was there. “I think it’s normal to grieve when these things happen. Even if the relationship was utter shit, it’s still a break that needs to heal.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Raina,” Everett said. “We’ve talked about it, and if you accept, we are appointing you as Chairman of the Board of Zenith Incorporated, effective immediately.”

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