Chapter 3 - Serena's Perfect Life
Serena had always believed the family belonged to her.
Not because she was cruel.
At least, not in the way Clara understood cruelty.
Serena simply had never been forced to question her position.
When she wanted something, Marjorie found a way.
When she failed, Robert called it a setback.
When Clara succeeded, the family called it expected.
Serena was preparing for her wedding when Clara first noticed the money disappearing from one of the accounts connected to the property.
The wedding was extravagant.
The venue overlooked the water.
The flowers had been imported.
The guest list contained names Clara barely recognized.
Serena complained about the cost.
Marjorie reassured her.
"Your father will handle it."
Clara heard the sentence while standing in the kitchen.
She said nothing.
Later that evening, she checked the records.
A transfer had been made.
The amount was nearly identical to the wedding deposit.
It came through one of the accounts Clara had been tracking.
She printed the record.
She placed it in her folder.
Then she closed the folder.
She did not confront Serena.
Not yet.
She wanted the whole picture.
What she found over the following months changed everything.
Serena was not simply receiving money.
She was benefiting from a structure she did not understand.
Someone had been paying her expenses through a series of family-controlled entities.
Her apartment.
Her legal education debt.
Her wedding.
Several investments.
None of them appeared as direct gifts.
They were disguised as business expenses.
Clara began wondering whether Serena knew.
That question hurt more than anything.
May you like
Because if Serena knew, then the smug smiles had never been innocent.
They had been deliberate.
