Chapter 6 - The Secret of the House
He didn’t squeeze hard enough to leave a permanent bruise, but he gripped me with enough force to remind me of his physical dominance. He was desperate, a cornered animal trying to claw his way out of a trap.
“Undo it,” he whispered, his eyes wild. “Call them. Tell them it was a misunderstanding. Tell them you made it up because you were angry about your classes.”
“I can’t,” I said, looking down at his hand on my arm. “And even if I could, I wouldn’t.”
“You will!” he threatened, raising his other hand.
“It’s too late, Dad,” I said, my voice dropping to a cold, hard whisper. “I set up three scheduled emails. The first one already went to the financial crimes division. The second one goes out at noon today to every single relative, neighbor, and church member. The third one goes to the county press tonight. If you touch me, I’ll make sure they get the security footage from the hallway camera too.”
Brandon let out a pathetic, choking sound from the floor. “She’s a psycho. Dad, she’s actually going to ruin us.”
My mother finally stepped forward, her voice trembling as she grabbed my father’s arm. “Michael, stop. Let her go. Ava, please... you don’t understand. You don’t know what will happen to us if this gets out. We will lose the house.”
I glared at her. “Then you shouldn’t have stolen my future to pay for Brandon’s mistakes! You have a mortgage. You can sell the house and pay off the loans.”
“No, Ava,” my mother cried, her tears finally overflowing. “You don’t understand. We can’t sell the house.”
The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. I could hear the faint sound of the wind chimes on the front porch and the steady, rhythmic hum of our kitchen refrigerator.
My father turned to my mother, his eyes blazing with fury. “Diane, shut up. Do not say another word.”
My mother flinched, but for the first time in her life, she ignored him. She looked at me, her eyes filled with a desperate, pathetic sorrow.
“Your grandmother Evelyn didn’t just leave that tuition trust fund to you, Ava,” she whispered.
May you like
I blinked, my mind racing. “What are you talking about?”
“She left this house to you too,” my mother said, the words tumbling out like a confession. “This entire property. The deed was placed in your name, legally effective the moment you turned eighteen.”
