Chapter 8 - THE REPOSSESSION
The following Tuesday,
the 'SUV problem' solved itself.
Vanessa had been bragging about her new car for months,
but she had failed to mention that the lease was in her name,
while the insurance—which I had cancelled—was the only thing keeping the contract valid.
Without insurance,
the leasing company triggered a default clause.
I happened to be driving past her neighborhood when I saw the tow truck.
Vanessa was in the driveway,
wearing her silk robe,
screaming at a man in a neon vest.
"You can't take it!"
"My sister is a billionaire!"
"She’ll pay the balance!"
The tow truck driver didn't even look at her.
He hooked the chains to the front axle of the shiny black vehicle.
"I don't care who your sister is,
lady,"
he said.
"I have a repossession order."
I pulled over a block away and watched.
I saw my mother run out of the house,
clutching a phone.
She was probably trying to call me again.
I saw the SUV being lifted into the air.
The symbol of Vanessa’s fake status was being hauled away to a lot in the industrial district.
Vanessa collapsed onto the pavement,
her face in her hands.
I didn't feel triumph.
I felt a profound sense of pity for how much she had gambled on a lie.
She could have worked.
She could have been honest.
She could have been a sister.
Instead,
she was a woman on her knees in a driveway,
watching her life be towed away.
I put my car back in gear and drove to the airport.
I had a flight to London for a business conference.
I was going to stay in a five-star hotel.
I was going to eat at the best restaurants.
But I was doing it with money I had earned.
As I waited in the lounge,
I opened my laptop.
I saw an alert from my bank.
Mom had tried to access my savings account using my old social security number.
The bank had blocked her and flagged it as attempted identity theft.
I didn't even feel angry anymore.
I just felt finished.
I called my lawyer from the gate.
"Press the charges for the forgery,
Marcus,"
I said.
"And tell the police about the bank access attempt."
"Are you sure,
Claire?"
"That’s your mother."
"No,"
I said,
looking at my boarding pass.
"That’s a woman who thinks she can steal my future because she gave me a past."
"I’m done being a victim."
I boarded the plane and turned off my phone.
For the next eleven hours,
I was unreachable.
May you like
And for the first time in years,
I didn't feel guilty about it.
