Chapter 5 - The Family Unravels
By noon, the news had traveled from Derek to the rest of the family like a wildfire through dry brush.
My phone rang continuously. When I blocked their personal numbers, they began calling from landlines, Google Voice numbers, and even Vanessa’s boutique business line. I simply set my phone to reject all calls from unlisted contacts and let my legal team handle the incoming deluge.
At three o'clock, Sarah walked into my home office carrying a tablet containing the transcript of voicemails left on the corporate legal line.
"Your father called four times," Sarah reported, sitting in the leather chair across from my desk. "The first call was furious. He threatened to sue you for 'elder financial abuse' and 'breach of verbal contract.'"
I couldn't help but chuckle softly. "And the second call?"
"The second call was your mother crying, asking if you could at least cover her health insurance premium," Sarah said. "The third call was your father again, but his tone had shifted... considerably. He asked if you could meet him at a diner near their home to 'talk like men.'"
"And Vanessa?"
"Vanessa’s commercial landlord served her with an emergency lock-out notice two hours ago," Sarah noted. "Her boutique is officially closed. Her inventory is being held until back rent is settled."
I leaned back in my executive chair, looking out at the Chicago skyline. For four years, I had believed that keeping my family financially afloat was my moral duty—that by taking away their money worries, I was preserving our family bond. But the money hadn't saved our family. It had turned them into spoiled, entitled parasites who viewed my kindness as weakness and my daughter as an inconvenience.
"Sarah," I said.
"Yes, Julian?"
"Send a formal written notice to my father, my mother, Derek, and Vanessa. State that I am willing to host a single meeting at my corporate headquarters in Chicago next Monday at ten in the morning."
May you like
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You want them to come here?"
"I want them to see where the money came from," I said, my voice cold and firm. "And I want them to understand exactly what they threw away when they pointed at the door."
