Chapter 7 - THE MOTHER'S PLEA
My mother didn't go quietly.
She showed up at my office the next day,
past the security guards,
screaming about her "rights."
When she finally burst into my room,
she didn't look like the elegant woman from the wedding.
She looked old,
tired,
and desperate.
“Grace!
How could you do this to your own mother?” she sobbed,
collapsing into a chair.
“I gave you life!
I raised you!”
“You tolerated me,
Mother,” I said,
not looking up from my files.
“You raised Caleb.
You merely kept me in the house until I was old enough to leave.”
“I’m going to be homeless!” she wailed.
“I’ve lived in that penthouse for fifteen years!”
“And for fifteen years,
you’ve looked down on me from that height,” I said.
“You told everyone I was a failure.
You told Caleb I was a burden.”
“Even at his wedding,
with your grandson sitting right there,
you couldn't help yourself.”
She looked at me,
her eyes narrowing.
“You were always so sensitive.
It was a joke!
Everyone was laughing!”
“Ethan wasn't laughing,” I said,
finally looking at her.
“I can handle your cruelty,
I’ve had a lifetime of practice.”
“But you hurt my son.
And for that,
there is no forgiveness.”
I leaned across the desk.
“You have twenty-nine days left.
I suggest you start looking for a smaller shelf to sit on.”
She stood up,
trying to regain her dignity.
“Caleb will hate you for this.
The whole family will hate you.”
“They already do,
Mother,” I said.
“At least now,
they have a reason.”
She left the room,
and for the first time in my life,
the weight of her disapproval felt like nothing at all.
I called Ethan's school to make sure he was picked up by my private security.
I wasn't taking any chances.
May you like
The Parkers were cornered,
and cornered animals are the most dangerous.
