Ficorpio
Chapter 1
My wife invited me to meet her at a romantic hotel.
I had just stripped off my clothes when the bathroom door opened—and out stepped my young, beautiful sister-in-law.
Then she called the police and accused me of attempted rape.
By the time I realized what was happening, I had already fallen into their trap.
My credit card had been maxed out.
Every last dollar of its two-hundred-thousand-dollar limit was gone.
The moment the bank alert appeared on my phone, I went straight to my wife, Claire Bennett, and demanded an explanation.
Claire stared at the message and hesitated before answering. “Emily asked to borrow some money for a business this morning. I didn’t think much of it, so I gave her your credit card.”
“A business? What kind of business could she possibly run? She doesn’t have any experience. Does she think starting a business is that easy? And if she’s the one taking the risk, why is she using my money to do it?”
I was furious.
“She’s opening a bakery,” Claire said. “She’s already bought the equipment and gotten everything ready. Honey, don’t be angry. Emily seems really confident about it. Besides, she said she was borrowing the money from us. It’s not like she won’t pay it back.”
Her attitude only made me angrier.
“That was a two-hundred-thousand-dollar credit limit. How am I supposed to pay it off? You know exactly how much we have in savings.”
I knew perfectly well what Emily Bennett was like. She had moved into our home after graduating and had been living with us ever since.
Being lazy and spoiled was bad enough, but she expected to be treated like a princess. She never cleaned her room. Claire washed all her clothes for her, even her underwear.
And this was the person Claire expected to run a business?
Before I could say anything more, my phone rang. It was Emily.
“Daniel, what’s wrong with your credit card?” she demanded as soon as I answered. “It stopped working after only two hundred thousand dollars. Just transfer another fifty thousand to me. I’ve opened a bakery, and everything else is ready. I only need the fifty thousand for the rent.”
My temper exploded.
“Emily Bennett, what the hell were you thinking? If you want to start a business and open a bakery, that’s your problem. What gives you the right to max out my credit card and use my money? And now you want another fifty thousand? Keep dreaming. Should I rob a bank and wire you the money afterward?”
Emily answered as if she were the wronged party. “What is that supposed to mean, Daniel Carter? It’s only two hundred thousand dollars. Once the bakery makes me rich, I’ll pay you back sooner or later. I’m warning you, I need that fifty thousand for the rent, so transfer it now. I’ve already paid the deposit. If I can’t open the bakery and all the money I’ve invested goes to waste, it’ll be your fault!”
I was so furious I nearly smashed the phone.
Chapter 2
Claire snatched it out of my hand.
“Emily, calm down,” she said. “Your brother-in-law is only saying things because he’s angry. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he transfers the fifty thousand later.”
She hung up before I could stop her.
“With what money?” I demanded.
I stared at her in disbelief. Even after all this, she was still taking Emily’s side.
“Daniel, Emily is my little sister,” Claire said quickly. “This is her first attempt at starting a business. We should support her. Aren’t your shares in the company worth about fifty thousand? You could sell them and give her the money she needs to get through this emergency.”
My eyes widened.
“Claire, have you lost your mind? Maxing out my credit card wasn’t enough, so now you want me to empty our last reserves to fund her business too? What am I supposed to be—her father or her husband? Why should I have to pay for any of this?”
I had been with my company from the beginning. During the startup phase, the owner had given each of the original employees a one-percent founding stake as an incentive. As the company grew, my shares had risen in value and were now worth fifty or sixty thousand dollars.
But there was no chance I would sell them.
The company was still expanding. One percent might not sound like much, but in a few years, those shares could be worth far more than fifty or sixty thousand.
And they wanted me to sell them to bankroll Emily’s bakery.
Absolutely not.
No matter how Claire pleaded, pressured, or threatened me, I refused.
Emily came home that evening with a face like thunder.
“Daniel Carter, aren’t you taking this too far?” she snapped. “I’ve arranged everything—the equipment, the employees, the storefront, even the grand opening. All I’m missing is the fifty thousand dollars for rent. You’re deliberately trying to ruin me, aren’t you? You’re afraid I’ll get rich and convince my sister to divorce you!”
“Emily, are you out of your mind?” I asked. “First, if you wanted to borrow money to start a business, did you ever discuss it with me beforehand? Second, why should I be the one paying for your business?”
I kept my voice calm, enunciating every word.
“Maxing out my two-hundred-thousand-dollar credit card wasn’t enough for you. Now you expect me to sell everything I have left and cover the rest of your expenses too. Why? Legally, I have no obligation to support my wife’s adult sister. Personally, you’ve lived under my roof for the past two or three months. I haven’t bothered calculating how much you’ve cost me, but I’ve already done more than enough for you as your brother-in-law.
“Have you ever shown an ounce of gratitude? Not only do you take everything for granted, but now you’re treating me like your enemy. What the hell do I owe you?”
Emily trembled with rage. She clenched her teeth and glared at me.
Chapter 3
“Fine. Fine, Daniel Carter. I finally see what you really are. You’re a worthless loser—and a petty one at that. My sister must have been blind to marry you.” She laughed bitterly. “But don’t worry. Sooner or later, I’ll make her divorce you. A broke nobody like you doesn’t deserve her.”
I shook my head, completely unmoved.
“If your sister can be talked into divorcing me by you, then our marriage was never strong in the first place. That would be our problem, not yours. So stop trying to threaten me with it. It’s childish.”
I looked her straight in the eye.
“You’ve never had to face the consequences of anything, have you? You think the whole world is supposed to coddle you just because your family always has.”
Claire had already reached the limit of her patience. She stepped forward and shouted, “Daniel, that’s enough! How can you say something like that to my sister?”
“Claire!”
Emily immediately threw herself into Claire’s arms and burst into tears.
I stared at my wife, Claire, helplessly. In the end, she had still chosen her sister’s side.
People used to tell me that marriage was the most fragile kind of family bond because spouses weren’t related by blood. I’d never believed them.
Now I did.
For weeks, Emily had caused one disaster after another.
She livestreamed from our apartment with the speakers cranked so high that the neighbors came knocking. Instead of apologizing, she picked a fight with them.
When a delivery driver wasn’t allowed through the security gate, she was too lazy to go downstairs. She filed a complaint, left him a terrible review, and then started arguing with the building’s security guard.
Every time she made a mess, I was the one forced to clean it up. There had been so many incidents that I couldn’t even be bothered to list them anymore.
Yet Claire never believed her sister had done anything wrong. Somehow, everyone else was always to blame.
This time was no different. Emily had maxed out my credit card without even telling me, then demanded that I sell my company shares to finance her business. When I refused, the entire situation somehow became my fault.
Emily had been furious with me ever since.
I knew she was plotting revenge, but I never imagined she could be this vicious.
That weekend, I followed our usual routine.
Claire would secretly book us a room at a nearby hotel and wait for me there. Ever since Emily had moved into our apartment, Claire and I had been sleeping in separate rooms. Those weekend meetings were our only chance to spend time alone and reconnect as husband and wife.
I hadn’t expected Claire to contact me that week. We were still giving each other the cold shoulder over what had happened with Emily.