Chapter 16 - THE EMPTY MANSION
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I stepped around the table and stood directly beside my mother, placing a supportive arm around her shoulders.
Brandon remained bent over the table, weeping quietly into his sleeves.
Vanessa looked around the room, her eyes desperately scanning the faces of her twelve guests, silently begging someone—anyone—to stand up and defend her.
Her socialite friends avoided her gaze, staring intently at their wine glasses.
Brandon’s law firm colleagues were already standing up, quietly gathering their coats.
Even her own mother, Linda, wouldn't look her in the eye.
Realizing she had lost completely, Vanessa grabbed her designer purse off the side table. Her face was twisted into a mask of pure, ugly rage.
“This family is completely insane!” Vanessa spat venomously, striding toward the front foyer.
She paused at the archway, turning around to glare at me one last time.
“What about my furniture?” she demanded, her voice shrill. “What about my clothes?”
I answered her with absolute composure.
“They’ll still be here tomorrow,” I said. “You will coordinate a time with my lawyer to collect your personal belongings under police supervision.”
She glared at me, her teeth grinding together. For a woman who had spent six years having the final word in every room she entered, she couldn't find a single one to save herself now.
She turned on her heel, and the heavy oak front door slammed shut behind her, rattling the glass panes in the windows.
Within ten minutes, the dining room was completely empty of guests.
Nobody stayed for dessert. Nobody finished their wine.
Rachel walked over to Mom before leaving, taking my mother’s hand in both of hers. “I am so very sorry, Margaret,” Rachel whispered sincerely. “You are a remarkable woman.”
The neighbor gave Mom a tight, emotional hug.
One of Brandon’s law partners paused near the front door, looking down at my sobbing brother. “You need to fix this, Brandon,” the lawyer said quietly before exiting into the night.
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By ten thirty, the grand house was completely silent.
Only three people remained: Mom, Brandon, and me.
