Chapter 3

I rushed over to Tristan and laid everything out.

"Tristan, thank God you're here. Mom was in a car accident, and she needs 300,000 dollars for emergency surgery.

"I've been going back and forth with Penelope for two hours and have rewritten the request three times, but she still refuses to release the money. We don't have much time left. Tell her to transfer it now, then come with me to the hospital so we can save Mom!"

Penelope wasted no time rushing to Tristan's side.

Her eyes welled with tears, looking as though she were the victim.

"Mr. Kane, I'm so glad you're back. I've been put in an impossible position," she whimpered. "Mrs. Kane burst in here demanding 300,000 dollars, completely ignoring the protocols you put in place. On top of that, she stopped me from taking disciplinary action against an insubordinate intern.

"I was only doing what you told me to do, yet she turned around and pinned the blame on me. Maybe you should just stop letting me manage the accounts, so I don't have to deal with this abuse!"

Tristan glanced at the shredded paper littering the office floor, his frown deepening.

He turned to soothe Penelope first, his voice dropping to a gentle murmur. "Alright, I understand. You've had a rough time today. I'll make it up to you later."

Then, he turned his gaze to me, his face tight with irritation.

"Astrid Tatum, are you done causing a scene?"

My tears stopped instantly.

I couldn't believe what I'd heard.

For the sake of his mother, I had cast aside every shred of my dignity and let his assistant walk all over me. Yet, the very first thing he did upon finding out was accuse me of throwing a tantrum.

When I didn't respond, Tristan stared down at me as if I were losing my mind.

"The entire reason I put Penny in charge of our household finances in the first place was that you're useless at budgeting," he scoffed.

"Now someone's managing our money responsibly, and instead of being grateful, you come into the office and create a massive scene. Do you have any idea how bad this looks?"

I froze, feeling as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

But a glance at the clock showed we had less than 30 minutes left.

Tamping down the storm of emotions raging inside me, I yelled, "This isn't about who manages the money! Mom is waiting for her surgery. If we keep wasting time, she's going to die!"

Tristan dismissed me with a wave of his hand, letting out a frustrated sigh. "No matter how urgent it is, you still have to fill out the proper application form. Stop making a scene and turning us into a laughingstock."

Penelope leaned against his arm, throwing a smug, triumphant glance my way.

I bit my lower lip hard, my fingernails sinking deep into my palm.

There were so many things I wanted to say, but the thought of Margery fighting for her life in the hospital made me force every single retort back down my throat.

Picking up a fresh sheet of paper, I sat down to draft the application form for the fourth time.

This time, I weighed every single word, terrified of making a single typo that would fail Penelope's arbitrary standards.

After filling the entire page, I handed it over to her once more.

"Ms. Sanders, I've written this one out in extreme detail, and I'm sure there are no typos. Please review it and authorize the transfer."

Penelope leisurely picked up the sheet, casually scanning just the first two lines.

I held my breath, waiting for her approval. As long as she sent the money right now, I could get into my car and race to the hospital. There was still time to make it.

Instead, she tossed the paper right back onto the desk and said, "The justification is insufficient, and the information is incomplete. I can't approve this."

I stiffened, certain I must've heard wrong.

"I wrote down everything there is to write! What more do you possibly want? If you keep stalling, she's not going to make it!"

Penelope tapped the sheet with a glitter-coated fingernail.

"The approval process is at my discretion, and it's not good enough. If you want the funds, you need to add more details. If you don't write down exactly what I want to see, you're not getting a single dime."

I turned to Tristan, desperately hoping he would speak up and be reasonable.

Instead, he merely offered a cold, indifferent glance. "Penelope knows what she's doing with the company funds. Just listen to her and fix it."

At that moment, whatever hope I'd still had in him disappeared completely.