Chapter 7 - The Unravelling
“Mom?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral and controlled. “What’s wrong?”
“Maya... please don’t hang up,” Mom sobbed into the receiver. “Everything is falling apart. It’s... it’s Amanda.”
I took a slow sip of my coffee. “What happened?”
“She... she took my emergency credit card,” Mom choked out between gasps. “The one your father keeps for house repairs. She spent over seven thousand dollars on designer clothes and a weekend trip to Nashville with her friends. Ray found out this morning when the statement came.”
I felt no shock. None at all.
For years, Amanda had been allowed to operate without consequences because my parents were too busy scrutinizing my every move to hold her accountable.
“What did Dad do?” I asked.
“They had a massive fight,” Mom sobbed. “Ray screamed at her, told her she was a parasite. Amanda packed her bags and left. She’s staying at a hotel, and she’s demanding that your father pay off the credit card bill or she’ll never speak to us again!”
I almost laughed. It was the exact same dramatic ultimatum Amanda had used dozens of times before—except this time, it involved actual financial fraud.
“Mom,” I said calmly, “Amanda is twenty-seven years old. She committed credit card fraud using your name. That’s between you, Dad, and Amanda.”
“But Maya! Ray is threatening to take out a second mortgage on the house to cover the debt and pay for her rent because he doesn’t want her to ruin her credit score!” Mom wailed. “We can’t afford that! He’s supposed to retire in three years!”
I sat up straight in my chair.
“A second mortgage?” I repeated.
“Yes! And... and he asked me to call you...” Mom stumbled over her words, her embarrassment practically radiating through the phone.
“He asked you to call me?” I pressed, a cold smile forming on my face. “Why?”
“He... he thought... since you’re working for Richard now and making good money... maybe you could lend us ten thousand dollars to clear the debt and help Amanda get her own apartment.”
The sheer, staggering audacity was almost impressive.
Three months ago, my father had grabbed me by the neck, thrown me out onto the lawn, and called me a trainable animal over a slice of cake.
Now, he was sending my mother to beg me for ten thousand dollars to bail out the golden child who had committed fraud.
“Mom,” I said, my voice dropping into an icy, unshakeable register. “Put Dad on the phone.”
“He... he’s in the living room...”
“Put him on the phone, Mom. Or I hang up right now and block this number forever.”
Five seconds of rustling passed over the line. Then, a heavy, familiar breath came through the speaker.
“Maya,” Dad said. His voice sounded older, rougher, stripped of its usual booming bravado. But the stubborn pride was still there. “Your mother told you what’s going on.”
“She did,” I said.
“Look,” Dad grunted, clearing his throat. “We’re in a tough spot. Amanda made a mistake. Young people make mistakes. You know how it is. We need to handle this as a family.”
“A family?” I asked softly. “Dad, when I was laid off through no fault of my own, you called me a stray animal living off you. You humiliated me in front of my sister. You threw me outside into the dirt.”
Dad remained silent.
“Now Amanda steals seven thousand dollars from you, and you want to take out a second mortgage and ask ME for money?”
“She’s your sister!” Dad snapped, a sudden flare of his old anger breaking through. “You have the money! Richard is paying you a fortune!”
“I earned that money, Dad,” I said smoothly. “Every single cent. And I am not giving you a dime.”
“You cold-hearted bitch—”
“If you take out a second mortgage, Dad,” I interrupted, “that’s your choice. But if Amanda ever uses Mom’s credit card again, I’ll personally hire an attorney to ensure Mom presses charges.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Dad breathed.
May you like
“Try me,” I said. “Animals have bad manners, remember? We do unpredictable things.”
I hung up the phone.
