Chapter 7 - THE MOTHER'S DESPERATION
Genesis Sterling showed up at my office two months later.
She didn't have the carving knife or the expensive wine.
She looked old,
tired,
and desperate.
She had bypassed security by telling them she was my mother.
When I walked into the lobby and saw her,
I didn't feel anger.
I felt pity,
the kind you feel for a dying animal that's still trying to bite.
"What do you want,
Genesis?"
I asked,
stopping ten feet away.
"You have to drop the charges,
Maya,"
she pleaded,
her voice cracking.
"Jackson can't survive in prison."
"He's a Sterling!"
"He's a criminal,
Genesis,"
I corrected her.
"And he's exactly where he belongs."
She stepped forward,
her hands shaking.
"I'll give you anything."
"The family jewels,
the remaining savings...
just let him come home."
I laughed,
a sharp,
biting sound that caused the receptionist to look up.
"You have nothing left to give me,
Genesis."
"You spent it all trying to live a life you couldn't afford."
"And as for your jewels,
I'm sure the banks will find them very interesting during the liquidation."
She lunged at me then,
her fingers reaching for my face,
but I was ready.
I grabbed her wrists,
holding them with a strength that shocked her.
"Don't touch me."
"Ever again."
"Security!"
I shouted,
and two large men appeared within seconds.
"Escort this woman out of the building."
"And if she returns,
call the police immediately."
Genesis was dragged out,
screaming insults that no one listened to.
"You're a monster,
Maya!"
"You'll regret this!"
I watched her go,
realizing that she was the one who had taught Jackson that love was a transaction.
She was the one who had convinced him that he was entitled to everything I had.
I went back to my desk and looked at the scar in the mirror.
It was fading,
but the memory was permanent.
I received a call from my lawyer later that day.
"The banks have seized the Sterling estate,
Maya."
"Genesis and her husband are being evicted tomorrow."
"They have nowhere to go."
I thought about the $1,200 a month.
I thought about the apartment in St. Paul.
"Good,"
I said.
May you like
"Maybe they can find a nice shelter."
"I hear they have plenty of stairs."
