Chapter 4 - Stripped Bare
By midnight, Lake Placid was covered in a light frost. Demi stood on the wide timber porch of her mountain home, watching as the local sheriff’s deputies escorted a furious Chloe down the driveway. Chloe was wrapped in a cheap fur coat, clutching two designer suitcases while shouting curses at the officers.
"You can't do this to me! Philip bought this house for US!" Chloe shrieked, looking at Demi with burning hatred. "You're just a bitter, lonely hag! He never loved you! He laughed at you every time you sent him money!"
Demi didn't flinch. She stood under the warm porch light, her hands resting calmly in her coat pockets.
"The money he gave you was stolen from my grandmother’s estate, Chloe," Demi said quietly, her voice carrying easily through the crisp mountain air. "The car you drove here was leased with fraudulent funds. The sheriff is towing it tonight as part of an asset seizure order. I suggest you call a taxi."
Chloe turned around in shock to see a tow truck backing up toward her pristine white luxury SUV. "No! You can't take my car!"
"It’s not your car," Sheriff Miller interjected firmly, pointing toward the road. "Miss Miller, step off the property line immediately, or you will be placed under arrest for criminal trespass and obstruction of justice."
Defeated, weeping, and shivering in the mountain cold, Chloe was forced to drag her suitcases down the long, dark gravel driveway toward the main road, her high heels clicking loudly against the asphalt until the darkness swallowed her whole.
Demi walked inside the cabin. The smell of expensive perfume lingered in the air, mixed with the scent of an expensive wine Philip had taken from Demi's personal cellar. She opened the front windows to let the cool night air sweep away the stench of betrayal.
Paige walked in behind her, holding a tablet. "The court freezes are fully active. Philip's personal credit cards were declined twenty minutes ago at a gas station. Glenda's bank account, where he funnelled the stolen $210,000, has been officially locked by court order."
"How are they surviving right now?" Demi asked, sitting down on the leather sofa.
"Glenda had about three hundred dollars in cash in her purse," Paige laughed dryly. "They’re currently trapped in a two-star motel off Interstate 90. Philip tried to call his corporate manager at his firm to request an advance on his salary, but I already sent a formal notice of pending legal attachment to his HR department. They’ve suspended him pending an internal investigation into his corporate expense accounts."
"He was using company funds too?" Demi raised an eyebrow.
"Men like Philip rarely stop at one victim," Paige noted. "Once they realize they can lie without immediate consequences, they cheat everywhere. He’s facing complete financial ruin, Demi."
"Good," Demi said, looking at the stone fireplace she had helped build. "He thought he could bleed me dry and discard me when he was finished. He’s about to learn how expensive it is to try and destroy a woman who built herself from nothing."
The phone on the coffee table began to ring. The caller ID displayed Philip’s number. Demi let it ring five times before picking up and putting it on speaker.
"Demi! Demi, please!" Philip’s voice was hysterical, stripped of all its former arrogance. "Please don't do this! My cards are declined! The police evicted Chloe from the cabin! My mom is having an anxiety attack in a motel room! You're an EMT, Demi, you have a heart! How can you be so cruel?!"
Demi listened to his ragged breathing for a moment before speaking in a calm, measured tone that chilled Philip to the bone.
"Five years, Philip," Demi said smoothly. "Five years I supported your career, took care of your mother, paid off your debts, and quietly endured being insulted in my own home. You mistook my patience for ignorance. You mistook my kindness for stupidity. You didn't care about my heart when you threw my grandmother's apron on your mistress. You didn't care about my heart when your mother threw iron at my head."
"It was a mistake! I was confused!" Philip begged, sobbing openly now. "We can fix this! We can go to counseling! I’ll get rid of Chloe! I’ll make my mom apologize to you on her knees!"
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"There is nothing to fix, Philip," Demi replied. "You are broke, you are unemployed, and by next week, you and your mother will be indicted for financial fraud. Happy birthday to me."
She pressed the red button, ending the call, and turned off her phone.
