Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 313: Who Will Believe You?

"Did he?" Tim asked mildly. "I wonder... who will believe you?"

Tom stiffened.

"Besides," Tim continued, conversationally, "Sharona made a lot of enemies. Anyone could have wanted her dead. Isn’t that the argument your lawyer made?" He smiled faintly.

Tom’s eyes widened despite himself. "How did you—" He stopped short, realization creeping in. "You really want to do this? You want to go to war with me?"

"You were already fighting a war with everyone around you," he said evenly. "Why are you mad now that they’re fighting back?"

The truth of it struck harder than Tom wanted to admit. He had scorched every bridge and then wondered why he was surrounded by water.

Tim took a step back, glancing toward the end of the street as if he were already halfway gone. "Oh," he added casually, "I heard Anna cut you off. Shame," Tim went on, a low chuckle slipping free. "Turns out you’re nothing without the woman. Interesting, isn’t it?"

Tim turned and walked away then, unhurried, unbothered. His laughter lingered faintly in the air.

"Asshole," Tom muttered under his breath.

*****

Winn drove his mother to Heathcliffe and Associates. Anna sat in the passenger seat with her spine straight and her hands folded in her lap, outwardly calm, inwardly bracing herself for war.

She wanted everything back.

Tom had wrapped himself in her wealth, her name, her father’s legacy, and dared to call it love. He had taken properties, land titles, all neatly filed under his name while she had trusted him enough not to look too closely. Now she wanted it all returned, stripped from him piece by piece.

Winn pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine.

"You okay?" Winn asked quietly, glancing at her.

"I’ll manage."

He helped her out of the car, his hand firm at her elbow as they made their way inside. It wasn’t lost on Anna how protective he’d become, jaw tight, eyes scanning, already planning three steps ahead.

They were ushered into a conference room. Maurice Heathcliffe was already waiting, immaculately dressed, silver hair sharp against his dark suit. Raphael stood beside him.

"Mrs. Kane. Mr. Kane. Welcome," Maurice said warmly, extending his hand.

"Maurice," Winn replied, shaking it firmly before pulling out his mother’s chair and helping her sit.

"Anything to drink? Tea, coffee?" Maurice asked as they all settled.

"I’ll have a coffee, please," Winn said immediately.

Anna turned to him with a raised brow. "Again? How many have you had already?"

"Keeps me running, Mum. Don’t worry about it."

Maurice signaled to Raphael, who slipped out of the room.

"So," Maurice said, folding his hands on the table. "Mrs. Kane. I’ve reviewed your requests. I won’t sugarcoat this—it’s going to be a long and brutal battle."

Anna nodded, unsurprised. "I expected as much."

"Every property Tom purchased during the marriage was registered in his name," Maurice continued. "Including the land his business operates on."

"If we can establish that marital funds—your funds—were used under false pretenses, or that assets were deliberately concealed or diverted, we can challenge ownership. It won’t be fast. And we will expect Tom to fight dirty."

"That’s his favorite sport."

Anna reached over and squeezed her son’s hand.

"I don’t care how long it takes," Anna said. "I want everything he bought examined. Every transfer."

"The major problem here is that he is your husband," Maurice explained gently, "and he bought the properties in his name."

"Yes," Anna said, "but it came from my money."

"From your joint account."

"Tom never put a dime in that account," she cried, fingers curling into the armrest of her chair. "Not once. That account was funded by my trust. He spent it like it was air."

"I’m not saying it’s impossible," Maurice said calmly. "I’m saying it will be a long process. And even if you get assets returned, it might not be everything."

"Those things mean nothing to me," Anna replied immediately.

"I know, Anna."

The door opened quietly as Raphael returned, followed by the secretary carrying a tray of coffee and tea. Porcelain clinked softly as cups were set down.

"I just..." Anna exhaled, pressing her fingers briefly to her eyes before lowering her hand. "I gave him the power and influence he’s using against my son now. I handed it to him. I just want to take it away. Hell, I’ll give it to charity. I don’t care. But enough is enough."

"You didn’t give him anything," he said quietly. "He stole it."

Winn picked up his coffee and took a long sip. Honestly, he didn’t care about any of this. What he wanted was Tom gone. Neutralized. Removed from the board permanently. The legal route felt... slow. Civilized in a way Tom had never been.

His mind worked in sharp, ruthless loops. Tom wasn’t moving fast enough. Lack of funds, maybe. Desperation had a way of making men careless, arrogant. He needed Tom to make a big mistake. Something that would justify ending this once and for all.

So far, all Tom had done was ask Joey to stir the investigation on Diane’s death in his direction. Anytime now, the police would come calling.

"Mrs Kane, I will do my best," Maurice continued. "Just send me a list of properties bought, the transaction history to support the claim, and the account the funds came from. Also, we need to prove that Tom has not been contributing to the household income."

"That part will be easy," she said.

Raphael rose from his chair again, smoothing his jacket. "If you’ll excuse me, Mr Heathcliffe, I need to handle the Johnsons’ case file."

Maurice nodded. "Of course."

"I don’t care how long it takes, Maurice," Anna said firmly, leaning forward. "I need this done."

"Understood. Have you been able to find a finance manager to put your finances together?"

"Yes," Anna replied. "I’ll also like to redo my will."

Winn choked a little. He cleared his throat, setting the cup down.

"Sorry..." Winn said. "Something tickling my throat." He lifted the coffee cup again, the faint bitterness suddenly sharper than before, and took another sip.

(This is to 300 golden tickets. First time ever! Thank you guys. And to @Shawnnie, another silent reader. thank you for the 18 golden tickets. Another Chapter coming up soon, courtesy of @MissyDionne)