Chapter 6 - The Ultimatum
The tension in the dining room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Jessica stared up at me with wide, terrified eyes, realizing that her fate rested entirely on a single word from the man she had tried to destroy less than an hour ago.
"However," I continued, raising a finger, "family is still family, even when it acts foolishly. I am willing to offer one condition, and exactly one condition, before I signal Viktor to open the front door for the authorities."
Jessica scrambled forward on her knees, desperate. "Name it, Arthur! Anything! I'll sign anything!"
"First," I said, ticking off my fingers, "you will sign an unconditional, irrevocable renunciation of any claim to the Sterling estate, my personal accounts, or Mark's corporate shares, effective immediately. Second, you will check yourself into a certified inpatient behavioral program for compulsive control and narcissism for a minimum of six months. And third, you will agree to joint custody terms that ensure Tommy and Lily remain under stable, loving supervision here in this household."
Mark stared at me in disbelief, a glimmer of hope breaking through his despair. "Is... is that all, Dad? No prison?"
"No prison," I confirmed, "provided every single clause of that agreement is adhered to without a single deviation. If you violate even one term, Jessica, Viktor will hand these files directly to the federal prosecutor, and not even God will be able to save you."
Jessica swallowed hard, her pride completely shattered. She looked around the table at her own family members, most of whom had already packed their coats and were inching toward the front door, eager to distance themselves from her sinking ship. She realized she had nobody left.
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"I... I accept," she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. "I'll sign."
Viktor immediately reached into his briefcase, pulled out a fresh set of documents that had already been drafted just in case, and slid them across the mahogany table along with a gold-plated fountain pen.
