Chapter 5 - The Mother's Desperation
Three days after Corbin was fired from Mercer Logistics, I was sitting in my living room, sipping hot tea while watching Wren play with her wooden building blocks on the rug. The house was quiet, secure, and warm.
The peace was shattered by the sudden, frantic ringing of the doorbell.
I looked through the window beside the front door. Standing on the porch, wrapped in a fur coat that looked slightly disheveled, was Elaine Mercer. She didn't look like the proud, icy woman who had thrown my clothes into trash bags three weeks ago. Her face was pale, dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her hands were trembling.
I opened the door, but left the heavy brass security chain latched.
"Hannah," Elaine gasped, leaning against the doorframe. "Thank God you're home. Please, open the door. We need to talk."
"We have nothing to talk about, Elaine," I said calmly, looking at her through the three-inch gap.
"Please, Hannah! It’s about Corbin!" Her voice carried a frantic edge I had never heard before. "He’s in deep trouble. Your father is destroying him!"
"My father isn't destroying Corbin," I replied coolly. "Corbin destroyed himself when he stole from his investors and cheated on his family."
"It was a mistake!" Elaine pleaded, her manicured fingers gripping the edge of the door. "He was under so much stress! Alyssa seduced him—she manipulated him! Corbin realizes that now! He kicked her out of the apartment yesterday!"
I almost laughed at the predictability of it. The moment Corbin lost his money and executive title, the mistress left, or Corbin tossed her aside in a desperate bid to save his skin.
"That's between Corbin and Alyssa," I said, starting to close the door.
"Wait! Please!" Elaine cried out, placing her leather-gloved hand in the frame. "The bank is freezing our personal accounts! The lawyers your father hired filed an emergency injunction claiming Corbin’s personal assets are tied to the embezzled company funds! They’re going to repossess my car, Hannah! They’re auditing my tax returns because Corbin transferred some of the money through my personal account!"
I stopped, looking at my mother-in-law with fresh realization.
"You knew," I whispered, the pieces clicking into place. "You knew Corbin was stealing from his company. That’s why you pushed so hard to kick me out. You wanted to re-title this house under your LLC so you could use it as collateral to pay back the funds before the audit hit!"
Elaine swallowed hard, her silence giving her away.
"You didn't just want me gone because you disliked me, Elaine," I said, my voice turning to ice. "You needed me gone so you could hide your family's financial crimes."
"Hannah, I’m Corbin's mother!" she wept, dropping all pretense of dignity. "I was just trying to protect my son! Any mother would do the same for her child! Think of Wren! Do you really want your daughter's father to go to federal prison?"
"You didn't think of Wren when you threw her into a sub-zero blizzard on Christmas Eve," I said, my voice steady, sharp, and unyielding. "You looked at a twenty-month-old baby and saw an inconvenience. You left her in the freezing cold so you could save your own comfort."
"I was wrong!" Elaine begged, tears smearing her expensive mascara. "I’ll apologize! I’ll get on my knees and apologize to you and Everett! Just tell your father to drop the criminal charges! Please, Hannah!"
I looked down at the woman who had spent four years making me feel worthless, inferior, and weak. I felt no anger left for her—only a profound sense of disgust.
"My father didn't file those criminal charges, Elaine," I said softly. "The District Attorney filed them after reviewing the audit reports. It's out of our hands."
I pulled back the door slightly to dislodge her hand, then closed it firmly.
"Have a safe drive home, Elaine," I said through the wood. "I hear the weather is turning cold again."
I turned the heavy deadbolt, locking the door, and walked back to the living room. Wren looked up at me with her big, innocent brown eyes, holding up a blue wooden block.
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"Look, Mama! High tower!" she giggled.
I sat down on the floor beside her, pulled my daughter into my arms, and held her tight as the sound of Elaine’s frantic knocking slowly faded away into the silent winter afternoon.
