Chapter 2 Going Dutch
689 Words
My mother grabbed my hand. "Forget it. Just let it go. Don't start a fight."
"This isn't about starting a fight," I said, standing up. "This is about you being bullied."
I picked up my phone and called Chloe, but she did not answer. I tried calling her again, and once more the call was declined. I continued to call five times in a row, yet each attempt was rejected.
Frustrated, I almost threw the phone down when it finally rang. It was Marcus Vance, my husband. I answered, but before I could speak, he began scolding me.
"Are you insane? Chloe and I are with clients, and you are blowing up her phone?"
I choked down my anger. "She scammed my mother out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She cannot even take a phone call?"
"What scam?" Marcus scoffed. "Chloe already told me about it. It's going Dutch. Your mother agreed to it."
"Agreed?" My voice trembled. "My mother has gout, and she was made to split the cost of seafood. My mother has high blood sugar, and she was made to split the cost of cherries. My mother has a bad back, and she was made to split the cost of a rowing machine!"
"Well, your mother chose to live in their house," Marcus said, raising his voice above mine. "If she thinks it is too expensive, she can move out."
I froze. "What did you say?"
"I said if your mother cannot handle living there, she should move out and stop stirring up drama every day," he replied.
I had not realized how far his loyalties had shifted. My mother spoke quietly beside me, "Just let it go. Don't fight."
"Mom, just sit for a bit," I said, and then hung up the phone. I walked out onto the balcony and called my assistant Zoe Chambers.
"Zoe, I need you to look into two people," I instructed. "Marcus Vance and Chloe Dalton. Check whether there are any records of them meeting one-on-one, any contact outside work hours. I need this done as quickly as possible."
After the call, I drove straight to Richard's house. When the door opened, Chloe stood in the doorway. The moment she saw me, her smile disappeared.
"Rachel? What are you doing here?" she asked.
Ignoring her, I walked right in. Richard was on the couch drinking coffee, and he looked startled to see me. In the corner of the living room stood the brand-new rowing machine.
I pointed at it and looked at Chloe. "Explain. What is this going Dutch arrangement? Can my mother even use this?"
A smile tugged at the corner of Chloe's mouth. "Anything in the common areas gets split. Those are the rules. Your mother lives in this house, so everything here is partly hers. Besides, it is her own choice not to use it."
"And the seafood?" I stared at her. "You know my mother has gout, and she cannot eat seafood."
"We all eat together," she said with a shrug. "If she does not eat it, that is her problem. I never said she could not have any."
My voice began to shake. "So she watches all of you eat and still has to pay?"
Chloe laughed. "She lives here. She is part of this household. What is wrong with splitting a few things? It is not even that much."
"Not that much?" I held up my phone. "Then explain why everything you bought was quoted at double the actual price."
Her smile froze.
"The seafood gift box was one thousand two hundred eighty dollars on the official site, yet you quoted three thousand eight hundred dollars. The king crab was eight hundred eighty dollars at market price, and you quoted two thousand eight hundred dollars," I said slowly, enunciating every word. "Do you call this going Dutch? This is fraud."
Chloe's voice went thin. "I bought imported ones. The quality is different."
"Imported?" I let out a cold laugh. "The official site is the brand's flagship store. Where exactly did you find imported ones? What kind of imported seafood comes without a label?"
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