Chapter 7 - THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE
Michael grabbed the paper from the table,
ripping it out of my hand.
He scanned the lines,
his eyes darting back and forth.
"This can't be right,"
he muttered.
"This is a mistake."
"It's not a mistake,
Michael,"
I said.
"It's a legal reality."
"I own eighty percent of this property."
"You own nothing."
"And Sarah,"
I turned to my sister.
"The Tahoe was purchased with funds from the same trust."
"The title Mom gave you is invalid because she didn't have the authority to sign it."
Sarah looked like she was about to faint.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that the car belongs to the estate."
"And the gold bracelets?"
"They were specifically mentioned in Dad's letter."
"They were to be sold to cover the funeral expenses I paid."
The silence in the room was deafening now.
The greed that had been so loud forty days ago was now a whimpering thing.
"You're going to kick us out?"
Michael asked,
his voice low.
"You're going to kick your own mother out of her home?"
"I never said that,"
I replied.
"Mom is a life tenant."
"She can stay as long as she wants."
"But you,
Michael?"
"You and your wife have been living here for free while you 'look for a new house'."
"That ends today."
"You have thirty days to find a place."
"And Sarah,"
"I want the keys to the Tahoe."
"I'm selling it to pay myself back for the casket you didn't help buy."
Sarah began to cry,
but I felt nothing.
I had seen her cry too many times to get her way.
"You're a monster,"
she sobbed.
"No,"
I said.
"I'm the person who stayed."
"I'm the person who listened."
"And I'm the person who owns the wardrobe."
I turned to my mother.
"I'll pay for the utilities,
Mom."
"I'll make sure the taxes are covered."
"But Michael and Sarah are no longer your responsibility."
"They're adults."
"It's time they learned the cost of things."
I walked toward the door,
the weight of the room no longer pressing down on me.
"One more thing,"
I said,
stopping at the threshold.
"The red wardrobe is staying at my place."
May you like
"But I'll be back for the brick."
"I think I'll use it as a paperweight for the new deed."
