PART 1
“If you want to go out and say goodbye to your father, you will have to crawl under my dog three times,” Edwin said with a smirk, dangling the front door key between two fingers. Beside him, a massive Caucasian Shepherd growled loudly on the marble floor of the grand entrance in Bel Air.
It was 1:45 in the morning while a violent rainstorm battered the streets of Los Altos. Inside the mansion, Camila had just received the devastating call informing her that her father, George Stanford, had died of a sudden heart attack.
“Please, Edwin, I need to go to the hospital right now because I just want to see him one last time,” she pleaded, her voice trembling with despair.
Edwin did not even bother to stand up from his velvet armchair as he adjusted his silk robe with utter disdain.
“Your father has been a useless financial burden for years, and I have an extraordinarily important board meeting tomorrow morning,” Edwin replied irritably. “I am certainly not going out in this freezing downpour for an old man who never did a single thing for me.”
Camila felt something break irreparably inside her heart after enduring five long years of continuous mental abuse. She had tolerated her husband’s constant scorn, her mother-in-law Beverly’s harsh insults, and her sister-in-law Annika’s shameless theft of her personal items. She had sacrificed her high-flying career, cooked elaborate meals for everyone, and endured being labeled a lazy parasite who lived off her husband’s money. She had even forced herself to ignore the lingering scent of foreign perfume on Edwin’s suits and the private messages he hid whenever she entered the room, while everyone mistakenly took her soft patience for utter weakness.
However, on this agonizing night, Edwin had crossed a dangerous line that he should never have touched.
Camila suddenly sprinted toward the main exit in a desperate effort to escape. Edwin quickly rushed after her, locked the heavy mahogany door, and released the aggressive dog’s leash.
“Come on now,” Edwin mocked, pointing arrogantly toward the massive dog. “Complete three laps underneath him, and then I will gladly consider letting you leave.”
The terrifying animal bared its sharp teeth as Camila stood completely frozen in place. Edwin fully expected her to burst into tears, beg for mercy, and humiliate herself on the floor as she always did. Instead, she slowly straightened her posture, calmly adjusted her rain coat, and stared at him with an icy chill that made him uncomfortable.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket with complete composure.
“Who are you attempting to call?” he scoffed with contempt. “Are you dialing the police or perhaps your starving friends?”
Camila calmly pressed the speed dial for a contact saved as Attorney Wayne.
“Activate clause one immediately,” Camila commanded calmly into the receiver. “Suspend the capital credit line for Crestview Construction at once, notify the national bank to execute all corporate guarantees, and dispatch the entire legal team to reclaim this residential property according to my father’s trust terms.”
Edwin instantly stopped laughing as his condescending smirk vanished.
“What on earth are you blabbering about?” Edwin demanded nervously.
Camila picked up a heavy bronze statue from the side table and smashed the door handle violently until the locking mechanism shattered completely. Before stepping out into the pouring rain, she turned back to confront him face to face.
“Your entire company, your luxury cars, this lavish mansion, and even the executive chair you sit in exist entirely because of my family’s wealth,” Camila stated coldly. “My father was never a bankrupt old man, as he secretly owned the massive conglomerate that kept your failing business alive for years.”
Edwin turned completely pale as his jaw dropped in utter shock.
Camila pulled open the heavy wooden door to face the violent storm.
“My beloved father died tonight,” she whispered through her tears, “and the foolish wife who forgave your every sin died right alongside him.”
Three hours later, the main bank completely froze Edwin’s corporate accounts while an emergency legal notice reached his board members, though nobody could possibly anticipate the massive storm that was about to unfold.
PART 2
Camila arrived at the emergency ward completely barefoot with cut feet and drenched hair, yet she felt no physical pain until she stepped into the cold room where her father lay.
George appeared as if he were simply resting in a peaceful sleep. Camila fell to her knees beside the metal gurney and held his icy hand tightly.
“Please forgive me, Dad,” she sobbed bitterly. “You were completely right about him all along.”
Standing silently behind her were Attorney Donald Wayne and Julian Ross, who was George’s most trusted executive advisor. Once Camila gathered the strength to stand up, Donald handed her a thick sealed envelope containing official documents.
Five years prior, George had agreed to Camila’s marriage on one strict condition: Camila had to temporarily relinquish her financial privileges so they could pretend her family had suddenly lost its enormous wealth. George wanted to test whether Edwin truly loved his daughter or simply desired the legendary Stanford legacy.
Meanwhile, the parent company quietly funded Edwin’s small firm through various shell corporations, planning to award him genuine shares if he remained loyal, but revoking every asset if he betrayed her.
The contents of the file revealed something far more sinister than standard infidelity. Edwin had systematically inflated invoices, created dozens of fake vendor accounts, and embezzled over forty million dollars from the corporate budget. A massive portion of those stolen funds had been funneled into buying a penthouse in Midtown for his secret mistress and executive assistant, Kara.
“Your father uncovered this vast embezzlement scheme two weeks ago,” Julian explained softly. “He spent sleepless nights analyzing the fraudulent contracts, which severely worsened his pre-existing heart condition.”
Camila closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks, realizing that while her father’s passing was not direct murder, it was undoubtedly the tragic result of Edwin’s unbridled greed.
During the private memorial service, Edwin’s family was completely absent. Instead, Kara walked into the funeral home wearing a flashy red dress, placed a fifty-dollar bill into the donation box, and smiled mockingly near the wooden casket.
“Edwin instructed me to inform you that you must vacate his mansion immediately,” Kara whispered maliciously. “I am preparing to move in as the new Mrs. Montalvo.”
Camila glanced down at the glittering diamond necklace resting on Kara’s neck, immediately recognizing it from corporate financial records.
“You should enjoy that piece of jewelry while you can,” Camila replied with a calm smile, “because it will serve as crucial evidence in a federal court very soon.”
