Chapter 2
On the third day of our stay, Patricia knocked loudly on my door at four ten in the morning.
“Get up right now,” Patricia demanded coldly. “Zachary’s corporate associates are coming over for an early breakfast.”
She handed me a detailed grocery list that included specialty hot chocolate, roasted coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, sliced tropical fruit, dynamic breakfast platters, fresh bakery pastries, polished crystal glasses without a single smudge, and a formal table set like a luxury hotel.
I worked continuously for over three hours while she corrected every single move I made. When the business guests finally arrived, Patricia smiled with immense pride.
“Daughters-in-law need to be taught proper manners right from the very beginning,” Patricia announced loudly to the table. “Girls coming from wealthy families usually arrive far too spoiled.”
The guests all offered polite laughs purely out of social obligation.
Zachary was sitting less than six feet away from me at the head of the table. He simply kept his eyes glued to his plate and continued talking about business trends.
A few hours later, Courtney carelessly threw a heavy pile of designer dresses onto the living room sofa.
“Take these straight to the dry cleaners for me,” Courtney commanded without looking at me.
“You can easily take them yourself,” I replied firmly. “Helping family does not mean doing every single chore for you.”
Five minutes later, Patricia marched into the room and accused me of disrespecting their family name.
That night, I confronted Zachary in our bedroom and told him exactly what had transpired.
“My mother is simply from a completely different generation,” Zachary defended. “Courtney is young and immature, so you really need to be a little more understanding.”
“They are actively treating me like an unpaid house employee,” I insisted.
“Please do not exaggerate the situation, Savannah,” Zachary dismissed quickly.
That single sentence finally broke something crucial inside my spirit.
The following morning, I attempted to call my father from the outdoor garden patio. Courtney suddenly rushed up behind me and snatched my smartphone directly out of my hands. She had previously spied on my passcode and immediately unlocked my private text messages. Patricia stood nearby and did absolutely nothing to stop her daughter.
Courtney scrolled through my messages until she discovered a critical note from my father stating that if my marriage went smoothly during the first month, he would legally transfer three point five percent of Golden Horizon’s total company shares directly into my name.
The entire energy in the house shifted instantly.
At noon, they called Zachary home from his corporate office early. Waiting on the dining table were official legal documents prepared by an asset management firm, including one document to add Zachary as a joint co-owner of my waterfront condo, another to give him complete authority over my two million dollar bank deposit, and a broad power of attorney granting him full management of my future inheritance.
“Just sign the papers right now,” Patricia said sternly. “In a real marriage, there should never be any distinction between what is yours and what is mine.”
“I am not going to sign a single page,” I stated directly.
Courtney scoffed loudly from across the room.
“So you actually believe our respectable family is trying to take advantage of your wealth,” Courtney mocked.
I turned my head and looked directly at Zachary.
“Tell your sister to give me back my phone immediately, and tell your mother to take these papers off the table,” I said.
Zachary took a deep, stressful breath before turning to face me.
“Just sign them, Savannah,” Zachary pleaded softly. “That will put my mother’s mind completely at ease, and you know I would never allow you to lose anything.”
I stared at him in utter disbelief.
I stood up to take my phone back from Courtney, but she quickly pulled her arm back to keep it away from me. When I stepped forward to retrieve it, Patricia suddenly rushed in between us and forcefully slapped me across the face.
The loud smack echoed through the entire grand room.
Zachary was standing just three steps away from me.
He did not raise a finger to defend me. He simply raised his hands nervously and spoke in a quiet voice:
“Okay, everyone just calm down.”
Maria, the housekeeper who had been fired days prior, happened to have returned to the property that morning to collect the six hundred dollars in back wages they still owed her. From the open porch, she witnessed my bright red cheek, saw the stack of legal contracts spread out on the dining table, and observed my phone trapped in Courtney’s hands. She clearly heard Patricia state that they needed to secure those corporate shares before my father could change his mind.
Maria did not step inside to pick up her check.
She turned right around, walked straight to the bus terminal, altered her travel arrangements, and caught an express trip down to San Diego.
Late that afternoon, she walked directly into the executive suites of Golden Horizon and asked to speak face-to-face with my father.
She laid out every single detail of what she had seen and heard.
My father immediately picked up his phone to call me, but I could not pick up because Patricia was still holding onto my device.
He then dialed Zachary’s personal cell phone number directly.
“Savannah is just upstairs resting right now, Don Lucas,” Zachary lied through his teeth. “Everything here is totally fine.”
My father paused for a brief second, hung up the phone, turned his gaze toward Maria, and uttered a single determined sentence:
May you like
“Tomorrow morning, I am driving to Phoenix to bring my daughter back home.”
Nobody residing in that grand house had any idea who had just set out on the road toward them.
