Chapter 3 - The Ultimatum
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Carla let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. "You're insane. You can't just cut off your own parents!"
"I literally just did," I replied, maintaining unbroken eye contact with my sister. "And while we're on the subject of subsidies, Carla, I also cancelled the monthly transfer to the private school for your kids. You'll need to cover the tuition for the spring semester yourself."
Carla's face drained of all color. The smug, customer-service smile vanished instantly.
"What?" she gasped, stumbling back a step. "Nora, you can't do that! Neil's business is slow right now! We can't afford that tuition!"
"Then I suggest you move them to public school," I offered reasonably. "Or perhaps you can sell one of those new iPads or the drone to cover the first month."
"You spiteful bitch," Carla hissed, tears of genuine panic welling in her eyes.
"Language, Carla," my mother scolded automatically, though her own panic was visibly rising. She turned her attention back to me, trying a different tactic. The aggressive approach had failed, so she pivoted to manipulation.
"Nora, please," my mother’s voice softened, taking on a wounded, fragile tone. "You are hurting us. I know I messed up on Christmas. I was stressed. The holidays are overwhelming. I bought Leo a gift card to Target yesterday. Please, let's just go inside, have a cup of tea, and fix this."
A gift card to Target.
Thirty-six carefully selected, wrapped presents for Carla's children. And a last-minute, guilt-bought gift card for my son.
"There is nothing to fix," I said, entirely unmoved by her performance. "The financial ties are severed. The trust is updated. You are no longer beneficiaries to my estate, and you are no longer authorized users on my accounts. It is done."
My mother stared at me, the fragile mask slipping to reveal pure, unadulterated venom.
"You think you can just erase us?" she sneered, her voice trembling with rage. "You think because you have money, you hold all the cards? You are keeping a grandchild away from his loving family! I have rights, Nora! Grandparents have rights!"
I looked at the woman who had spent my entire life making me feel like I was never quite enough.
"If you ever threaten me with legal action regarding my son," I said, my voice dropping to a terrifying, quiet whisper, "I will not just cut you off. I will call in the private note on your mortgage immediately, forcing a foreclosure sale within sixty days. I will bury you in so much litigation you won't be able to afford a lawyer, let alone a house."
I turned my back on them, opened my front door, and walked inside.
I locked the deadbolt, ignoring the sound of my mother screaming my name from the porch.
May you like
I had drawn the line.
But I drastically underestimated how desperate my family would become when the reality of their impending poverty finally set in.
