Chapter 6 - The Ultimatum
The humiliation of Thursday night dinner broke whatever remaining delusion Brenda had left. She realized that not a single person in the Marshall family, nor any executive at Sterling Heights, was going to save her.
By Friday morning, reality came crashing down on Sienna with brutal force.
It was the final deadline for St. Jude Private Academy’s tuition payment. At 12:00 PM, Sienna received an official email notifying her that her enrollment had been formally terminated. Her campus access badge was deactivated, her registered classes were dropped, and a collections notice for the remaining balance was mailed to the estate.
Sienna spent the entire morning hysterically crying in her bedroom, throwing her designer clothes into suitcases, screaming at her mother through the wall.
"You promised me we were rich!" Sienna shrieked, bursting out of her room and running into the kitchen where Brenda was making coffee. "You told me Charles owned everything! You let me talk to Ella like that, and now my life is over! All my friends at St. Jude’s are laughing at me! They know my car was repossessed!"
"Sienna, stop screaming!" Brenda snapped, her own nerves stretched to the absolute limit. "I’m trying to think!"
"Think about what?!" Sienna cried out. "I don't have a car! I don't have a college! I don't have an allowance! What am I supposed to do now?!"
"You're going to get a job!" a voice called out from the hallway.
My father walked into the kitchen wearing his working coat. He set a local newspaper on the island counter, opened to the classifieds section, with several entries circled in red marker.
"What is this?" Brenda asked, staring at the newspaper in disgust.
"Job listings," Charles said plainly. "The local boutique down at the square is looking for a sales assistant. The diner near the highway needs a hostess. And the municipal community college is accepting mid-term admissions for adult night classes."
"Community college?!" Sienna gasped, looking at Charles as if he had handed her poison. "A diner hostess?! Are you insane?! I am a Marshall!"
"No, Sienna," Charles corrected her firmly. "You are a Vance. My last name is Marshall. My daughter’s last name is Marshall. You were a guest in this home who refused to show basic decency. If you want to pay off your St. Jude’s debt and buy a car, you will earn it yourself."
"Charles! She is a child!" Brenda shouted, standing in front of her daughter.
"She is nineteen years old, Brenda!" Charles shouted back, his voice cutting through the room with unprecedented authority. "She is an adult! When Ella was nineteen, she was working forty hours a week at the firm while carrying a full college course load! She didn't sit around insulting people while driving a leased sports car!"
Charles stepped closer to Brenda, pulling an envelope from his coat pocket and placing it on the island counter.
"What is that?" Brenda asked, her voice dropping into a fearful whisper.
"That is a postnuptial agreement drafted by my personal attorney," Charles said quietly. "It stipulates three conditions for you to remain living in this house."
Brenda stared at the white envelope as if it were a explosive device. "Conditions?"
"First," Charles stated, "you will issue a formal, written, and public apology to Ella, the catering staff, and our family for your behavior at dinner. Second, you will secure employment within thirty days and contribute to your own personal expenses. Third, Sienna will either enroll in community college or find a full-time job. If you refuse to sign this agreement by Monday morning, I will file for an immediate legal separation, and Ella will issue an eviction order for 144 Sterling Way."
Brenda stared at her husband, her mouth opening and closing, unable to form words. She had thought Charles was a weak, timid old man she could easily control. She had never seen him stand so resolute.
"You... you would throw us out?" Brenda whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"I didn't throw you out, Brenda," Charles said softly, turning toward the door. "You pushed yourselves out the moment you mistook my daughter’s kindness for weakness. You have until Monday."
Charles walked out of the kitchen, leaving Brenda and Sienna standing over the postnuptial agreement in dead silence.
Upstairs in my study, I watched the security feed of the kitchen on my laptop screen. Marcus, my assistant, stood beside my desk holding a digital tablet.
"Ms. Marshall," Marcus said quietly. "Our legal team has already prepared the formal eviction notice if Mr. Marshall requests it on Monday."
"Good," I replied, closing the laptop lid. "What about Sienna’s BMW?"
"It’s currently listed on our corporate asset liquidation portal," Marcus smirked. "And funny enough... one of our junior account executives just bought out the lease."
I looked up at Marcus with a slight smile. "Who?"
May you like
"Your former assistant, Sarah," Marcus laughed. "She’s been working sixty hours a week for three years. She was thrilled to get the corporate discount."
"Good," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Hard work should always be rewarded. Arrogance, on the other hand, carries a very heavy interest rate."
