Chapter 3 - The Reckoning
I walked into the lobby as the sun began to rise,
finding my mother and Marissa pacing near the elevators.
They looked disheveled,
the glamour of the previous night’s party replaced by desperation.
"Caleb,
we need to talk,"
Marissa said,
her voice high and shrill.
"That email...
you can't use those videos,
they were taken without consent!"
I ignored her and looked at my mother.
She looked older now,
the weight of her crimes finally showing in the lines on her face.
"The lawyer says the second mortgage is a felony because of the way you forged the signatures,"
I said,
leaning against a marble pillar.
"And the child endangerment charges will likely carry a mandatory minimum."
My mother’s eyes filled with tears,
the same crocodile tears she had used to manipulate me for thirty years.
"I did it for us,
Caleb,"
she sobbed.
"After your father died,
I was so scared of being poor again."
"I thought if I had enough money,
I could keep the family together."
"You kept the family in a cage,
Eleanor,"
I snapped.
"You treated my wife like a prisoner and my children like an inconvenience."
Just then,
two police officers entered the lobby.
Marissa’s face went white.
"What did you do?"
she gasped,
backing away.
"I didn't call them,"
I said,
checking my watch.
"The bank’s fraud department did."
"As soon as I flagged the unauthorized transfers this morning,
the system triggered an automatic report."
One of the officers approached us.
"Are you Eleanor Sterling and Marissa Sterling?"
My mother tried to hide behind her daughter.
"There’s been a mistake,"
she stammered.
"This is just a family dispute."
The officer pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
"We have a warrant for your arrest regarding financial elder abuse and identity theft,"
"along with a separate complaint regarding child neglect."
As the handcuffs clicked shut on my mother's wrists,
she began to scream.
She cursed Sarah,
she cursed me,
and she cursed the house.
Marissa tried to run toward the door,
but the second officer caught her by the arm,
pinning her against the glass.
The guests from the night before would have loved this show.
I stood there and watched as they were led out to the squad cars.
I felt no pity,
no regret,
only a sense of profound relief.
I went back upstairs to the suite.
Sarah was awake,
sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Are they gone?"
she asked softly.
"They’re in custody,"
I replied,
sitting beside her.
"They won't be coming back to the house,
Sarah."
"Ever."
She leaned her head on my shoulder,
and for the first time in five years,
I felt her body relax.
"What about the house?"
she asked.
"It’s a shell,"
I admitted.
"But I’m an engineer."
"I know how to fix things that are broken."
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"And if it can't be fixed,
we’ll build something better."
