I looked at Daniel.
“Are you going to say anything?”
His jaw tightened.
“Emma… don’t make this worse.”
Something inside me went completely still.
Vivian smiled.
She thought my silence meant surrender.
I slowly stood, ignoring the pain in my knees.
Then I smiled.
“Fine,” I said.
Vivian lifted her chin.
“Fine what?”
I walked toward my laptop on the sideboard.
“Fine. You want to know who controls the money?”
I opened it.
Daniel finally looked up.
His expression changed.
“Emma.”
I entered my password.
Vivian laughed.
“Oh, please. Stop being dramatic.”
I opened the management dashboard I had built for the Mercer family expenses.
Mortgage assistance.
Car leases.
Household payroll.
Private club dues.
Vivian’s supplemental credit card.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Emma, what are you doing?”
I looked directly at him.
“You told me not to make it worse.”
My finger hovered over the first cancellation.
“So I’m making it simple.”
Then I clicked.
PART 2
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