“She’s exhausted, emotional, terrified of losing me. I’m going to tell her the company’s growth exposes us to liability. That if the business gets sued, we could lose everything unless we separate the estate on paper. She won’t understand half the language, and she trusts me enough to let me ‘protect’ her.”
I felt my own heartbeat in the soles of my feet.
“What do you get out of it?” Jasmine asked.
Julian laughed softly.
“Everything.”
My mother made a pleased sound in the back of her throat.
“I’ll secure a legal claim to her founder equity and separate my own assets at the same time,” he continued. “Once it’s executed, I file. We argue she neglected the marriage, abandoned her duties, prioritized the company over the home. Brenda, if needed, you testify. Jasmine too.”
“I’ll say whatever I need to say,” my mother replied immediately. “You’ve put up with enough from her. She’s always thought she was better than this family.”
My knees weakened, but my mind sharpened.
No ambiguity remained.
They knew about Lauren.
They knew about the condo.
They knew about the money.
My mother was prepared to lie under oath.
My sister was prepared to help her.