Chapter 9 - Setting the Boundaries
The silence on the porch was deafening.
Mark stepped forward.
"Laura, they are my family."
"And Evan is your son," I fired back, turning to him.
"If you want to give them our savings, Mark, you can pack your bags and leave with them right now."
Mark froze.
He looked at his broken parents.
He looked at his bitter, ruined sister.
Then he looked at me.
And he heard Evan playing in the living room behind me.
The boy who had cried in his arms because his aunt slapped him.
Mark took a deep breath.
He stepped back.
He stood next to me.
"Mom, Dad... I can't help you," Mark said.
His voice cracked, but it was firm.
"You let Diane do whatever she wanted her whole life. You enabled her."
Susan gasped. "Mark!"
"No, listen to me," Mark continued.
"She hit my son. And you laughed. Laura was the only one who stood up for him."
Mark looked at Diane.
"You brought this on yourself, Diane. You need to leave."
Diane let out a wretched sob.
"You're choosing her over us?" Susan cried.
"I'm choosing my wife and my child," Mark said.
He reached out and closed the front door.
The lock clicked.
I looked at my husband.
For the first time in our marriage, I saw a man who truly understood his priorities.
Outside, we could hear Susan crying and Diane cursing our names.
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But the thick wooden door muffled the sound.
It was the sound of a toxic past finally being shut out.
