Chapter 3 - The Threat of the Inheritance
The threat wasn't empty. The next morning, Dorothy and George called Joanna to their house. The old family home felt cold. Sitting on the kitchen table was a legal document.
"Joanna, sweetheart," Dorothy started, her voice full of false sympathy. "You have to understand Denise's position. She's deeply hurt. Simon humiliated her in front of high society. Jonathan is questioning their engagement now."
"She humiliated herself, Mom," Joanna said quietly, refusing to sit down. "She brought a cake that insulted nineteen years of my life."
George sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, Joanna. Your grandfather left a trust fund for the grandchildren. It's supposed to fund Simon's college education. But as the executors, your mother and I have decided... unless Simon publicly apologizes to Denise and agrees to spend the summer with her in Chicago to mend fences, we cannot release those funds."
Joanna felt a cold dread wash over her. Simon had been accepted into a prestigious engineering program. She had been working extra shifts and saving every peso, but without that trust fund, the tuition was insurmountable.
"You're blackmailing a boy's future to save Denise's pride?" Joanna asked, her voice cracking.
"It's family solidarity, Joanna," Dorothy said coldly. "You chose to make a scene. Now you have to fix it."
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Joanna walked out of the house, her heart breaking. She couldn't let Denise ruin Simon's future. She began to wonder if she should beg Simon to apologize, just to get the money he deserved. But when she returned home and told Simon, his reaction was instantaneous.
"No," Simon said fiercely. "We don't take blood money, Mom. I'll defer for a year. I'll work at the factory. I'll do whatever it takes. But I will never bow down to her for a check."
