Chapter 4

I just shook my head. His arrogance was almost comical.

Pathetic tricks?

He had no idea what was coming.

I grabbed my purse and drove straight to my lawyer's office.

Right after wrapping up our meeting, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from my in-laws.

"Chloe, we heard about everything," Mark's mother said hurriedly.

"Look, Mark was definitely in the wrong here. But he just felt sorry for that poor single mom and wanted to help. He had no idea she would steal Mia's spot! We've already yelled at him. But Mark told us you're actually taking this to court and filing for divorce?"

"Chloe, for Mia's sake, you can't tear your family apart!"

I raised an eyebrow.

I knew Mark would chicken out the moment reality hit. He couldn't handle it on his own, but his pride kept him from backing down to me, so he sent his parents to do his dirty work.

"I'm divorcing him precisely for Mia's sake," I said coldly.

"As a father, he gave away his own daughter's future. Does he even deserve to have her call him Dad? If he can give away her school spot today, what will he give away tomorrow? I gave him an entire week to get it back from Sarah, and he refused."

"Today, he dragged her along to offer me five thousand dollars to 'buy' the spot. We spent 1.2 million on that house, and my parents put down half the cash! Five grand is an insult!"

A sharp gasp came through the speaker.

Clearly, Mark hadn't mentioned that humiliating detail to his parents.

I twisted the knife further:

"I consulted my lawyer. In a divorce, I am guaranteed primary custody."

"Don't bother calling me again. And don't expect to see Mia, either."

I hung up immediately.

Sure enough, half an hour later, my phone blew up with non-stop calls from Mark.

I didn't answer a single one.

Refusing to quit, he bombarded me with frantic text messages:

[Are you out of your mind?! Why are you dragging my parents into this?]

[Who gave you the right to keep Mia away from them? Do you really have to burn everything to the ground?]

[Please pick up, Chloe. I'm begging you, let's just talk. Do it for Mia.]

...

I didn't reply to a single word.

Where was this urgency during the past week when he brushed me off every single day?

Mark even showed up at my parents' house, looking for me.

Fortunately, I had anticipated that move and sent my parents and Mia out of town to our lake house for a few weeks.

Unable to find anyone, Mark resorted to blowing up my notifications—switching between desperate threats and pitiful apologies.

Yet, he never once mentioned compensating for the spot.

It was his typical playbook: stall until the enrollment window closed, then try to sweet-talk me once there was nothing left to fight over.

That way, he wouldn't spend a dime, Sarah would keep the prize, and he assumed I'd stay married to him for our daughter's sake.

Keep dreaming.

The day after my lawyer finalized all the documentation, a comprehensive fifty-page whistleblower dossier was sent directly to the corporate ethics committee and human resources department at Mark's company.

At the same time, I filed a formal report with the municipal residency board regarding Sarah and her son's fraudulent registration.

I could tolerate a lot of things. But threatening my daughter's future? I would scorch the earth.

Meanwhile, during the lunch break at their office, Mark and Sarah slipped into an empty breakroom to whisper.

"Mark, Chloe looked completely serious yesterday... is this going to blow up in our faces?" Sarah asked anxiously.

Mark took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Relax. Enrollment for Oakridge Elementary closes today at five. Once the portal locks, Leo's admission is set in stone. Nothing can change it."

"I told you I'd take care of you and Leo. I wouldn't mess up something this important."

"As for Chloe... once the dust settles, she'll just have to deal with it. Worst-case scenario, I'll bite the bullet, pay for Mia's private school, and buy Chloe a couple of designer bags to shut her up. It'll blow over."

Sarah smiled warmly, gazing at him with sheer adoration.

It stroked Mark's ego in all the right ways.

As they leaned in closer, footsteps approached.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Someone rapped on the open breakroom door.

The two jumped apart instantly, grabbing their mugs and pretending to inspect the coffee machine.

The visiting coworker rolled her eyes in silent disgust before looking at Mark.

"Mark Miller from IT?"

"Follow me up to the twelfth floor. The Ethics and Compliance Committee needs to see you immediately."

Mark blinked, bewildered. "Wait, what? Okay..."

Left alone in the breakroom, Sarah frowned with unease.

Just as she turned to head back to her desk, her phone rang.

"Hello? Is this Sarah Hall, mother of Leo Hall?"

Her stomach dropped. "Yes, speaking. Who is this?"

A stern voice replied through the receiver:

"This is the Director of Admissions at Oakridge Elementary."

"Following a formal inquiry, significant irregularities have been found regarding your proof of residence and registration documents. By unanimous decision of the school board..."

"Leo Hall's enrollment offer has been officially rescinded."