Chapter 5 - The Final Bill
Two weeks later.
Gertrude was sitting in the lobby of Lakeside Estates.
She was surrounded by her luggage, her face a mask of fury.
The manager stood in front of her, looking apologetic but firm.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Miller, but the payment was reversed."
"The unit is no longer available to you."
"But my son! He paid for it!" Gertrude shrieked.
"Actually," a voice said from the glass doors.
Callie walked in, wearing a sharp power suit and sunglasses.
She looked like she was worth ten million dollars.
Behind her was Sarah, her attorney.
"Actually, Gertrude, the payment was made with stolen funds."
"Funds that have been legally reclaimed."
Gertrude lunged at her, but Sarah stepped in the way.
"Careful, Gertrude," Sarah said. "There are cameras everywhere."
"And we've already filed the police report for the $150,000 theft."
Gertrude went pale. "Theft? That was a gift from my son!"
"It wasn't his to give," Callie said, stepping closer.
"That was my grandmother’s inheritance."
"The police are currently looking for Dustin to ask him a few questions."
"I believe he's staying at a YMCA right now?"
Paige walked in then, looking disheveled.
"Callie! You have to stop this! They took my car!"
"I had to take the bus! Do you know how humiliating that is?"
Callie looked at her sister-in-law, a girl she had once tried to love.
"Humiliating?" Callie asked.
"Is it as humiliating as being told there's half a cucumber in the fridge at your own dinner?"
"Is it as humiliating as having your husband’s fingers bruise your arm?"
Paige looked down, unable to meet her eyes.
"I'm not here to argue," Callie said, pulling a document from her bag.
"I'm here to give you this."
She handed the paper to Gertrude.
It was a bill.
It was an itemized list of every cent Dustin had funneled to them over three years.
Total: $242,000.
"That is the civil suit," Callie said.
"I’m suing you both for the return of the funds."
"I know you don't have it."
"But I’ll be taking a lien on your social security and any future wages."
"Every time you buy a loaf of bread, you'll be paying me back for that pork roast."
Gertrude began to shake, her smugness finally shattered.
"You're a monster," she whispered.
"No," Callie said, turning to walk away.
"I'm just a woman who finished her dinner."
"Enjoy the bus ride, Paige."
"And Gertrude? I heard there's half a cucumber left in the YMCA fridge."
Callie walked out into the bright morning sun.
She got into her car and drove toward her parents' house.
She had a new life to build.
She had a bank account to refill.
And for the first time in years, she was hungry.
But this time, she was only cooking for the people who mattered.
The menu was simple:
Freedom.
Peace.
And a very, very large cake.
A cake that nobody would ever touch without her permission.
May you like
She turned up the radio and smiled.
The table was finally clean.
