The Broken Home
Hours after leaving the hospital, Eva is pressured to sign away her marriage at a family banquet—until she reveals the documents that can bring the entire dynasty down.
Fiction. Contains family conflict, coercion and medical distress.Chapter One: The Banquet
“Sign the divorce papers. After what happened at the hospital, you no longer have a place at our family’s table.”
At the center of a lavish banquet attended by more than a hundred family members and executives, Eva’s mother-in-law placed a stamped hospital report in front of her. Eva had left the hospital only hours earlier and was still weak.
“Mom… I went through a medical emergency this morning. You brought your son’s new partner here and now you are forcing me out in front of the whole family?” Eva steadied herself against a chair, still weak from the hospital.
The husband she had loved for seven years did not even look up. Sitting beside his new partner, Thomas calmly cut his steak. “If my mother tells you to sign, then sign. Take the divorce and leave.”
His mother snatched the papers from Eva’s hand. Around the table, relatives and executives who had always pretended to be kind watched without lifting a hand. A few even laughed.
“This is your last day here,” the older woman said. “Guards, escort her out.”
Eva remained calm. She pulled three stamped bank demand notices and a receipt from the tax authority out of her bag. Then she looked directly at Thomas.
“You seem to have forgotten that the mansion, the Rolls-Royce and every guarantee behind your company’s listing are in my name. I faced the hardest morning of my life, and now you want me to sign away my marriage at this table. Fine. We can face the consequences together.”