Chapter 5 - The Insolvency of ChloeBy Wednesday afternoon, the financial liquidation of my family's remaining assets reached its absolute, inescapable conclusion.
Without my monthly ten-thousand-dollar stipend, Arthur’s private bank accounts were hit with three simultaneous automated debt recalls from secondary credit unions where he had leveraged his 'expected family trust payouts' to secure personal loans.
The luxury Porsche Cayenne driven by Chloe was repossessed from the driveway of their River Forest home at 3:00 PM, towed away in full view of their wealthy neighbors.
At 5:00 PM, my private phone rang.
It was Chloe.
I picked up the line, setting it on speaker while sitting in my private executive office at Vance Strategic Holdings in downtown Chicago.
"Clara..." Chloe wept hysterically through the speaker, her voice stripped of every drop of her usual arrogant, cruel vanity. "Clara, please... they towed my car! My landlord just served me a lease termination notice on my apartment! I have eighty-four dollars left in my checking account!"
I took a slow sip of my black coffee, looking out the panoramic window at the sunset over Lake Michigan.
"Eighty-four dollars is enough for two weeks of groceries if you buy rice and beans, Chloe," I answered smoothly.
"Clara! How can you be so heartless?!" Chloe shrieked, her voice cracking into pathetic, desperate squeaks. "I'm your little sister! Mom and Dad are packing their clothes into cardboard boxes because the eviction team arrives on Friday! Where are we supposed to live?!"
"There are several nice studio apartments available on the South Side, Chloe," I suggested deadpan. "The rent is about eight hundred dollars a month. If you get a job at a local retail store, you should be able to afford one by next month."
"A retail store?!" Chloe whimpered in absolute, horror-stricken shock. "I have a degree in communications! I don't work in retail!"
"You have a communications degree that I paid sixty thousand dollars a year for, Chloe," I reminded her softly. "And yet, the only communication you sent me while I was lying in a hospital bed was a laughing emoji and a picture of your birthday gown."
The line went dead quiet for five seconds.
"I'm sorry, Clara..." Chloe whispered, tears choking her throat. "I'm so sorry... I was stupid... I was selfish... please don't do this to us..."
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"I didn't do this to you, Chloe," I whispered back, my voice calm, clear, and absolute. "You did it to yourselves the moment you decided that my pain was worth less than your party."
I ended the call, blocked her number permanently, and turned back to my financial ledgers.
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