Chapter 6: The Eviction
One Week Later.
The sun was shining for the first time in days. I sat in the back of the limousine, Leo strapped securely into a top-of-the-line car seat next to me.
We weren’t going back to my parents’ house to live. We were going there to inspect my property.
According to the trust documents, the house my parents lived in—my grandmother’s old estate—was actually owned by the trust. They had been allowed to live there as caretakers. That privilege ended the moment I took control.
The limo pulled into the driveway. There was a moving truck already there.
My parents were standing on the lawn. They looked ten years older than they had a week ago. Thomas was unshaven; Elaine’s hair was a mess. They looked small.
I lowered the window as the car stopped.
“Anna!” Elaine rushed forward, putting on a wobbly smile. “Oh, thank God. We were so worried. Is that him? Is that the little angel?”
“Stay back,” I said calmly.
“Anna, please,” Thomas said, his voice cracking. He gestured to the moving truck. “Lydia sent these people. They’re saying we have to leave. You can’t let them do this. We’re your parents.”
“You are,” I agreed. “And you taught me a very valuable lesson about self-reliance.”
“We made a mistake,” Elaine sobbed, reaching for the door handle. It was locked. “We were desperate. We just wanted to secure the family’s future. It was all for you, really!”
“For me?” I laughed. “You tried to drug me. You tried to steal him.”
“We’re family!” Thomas shouted, anger flaring up again as desperation took hold. “You owe us! We took you in!”
I looked at them. I tried to find the fear I used to feel—the desperate need for their approval. It was gone. burned away by the fire of labor and the cold hard cash of reality.
“The house is being sold,” I said. “The trust needs to liquidate under-performing assets. But I’m not heartless.”
I handed an envelope through the window slit.
Elaine grabbed it, hope flaring in her eyes. She tore it open.
Inside was a brochure for a state-subsidized senior living facility three towns over, and a check for $5,000.
“What is this?” Thomas stared at the check. “$5,000? That won’t even cover the moving costs!”
“Women used to handle things alone in caves,” I quoted my mother’s words back to her. “Surely two able-bodied adults can figure it out.”
“You can’t do this!” Elaine screamed.
“You have 30 days to vacate,” I said. “After that, the locks change.”
“Anna, let me see the baby! Just once!” Elaine begged, pressing her face against the glass.
I looked at Leo. He was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the monsters outside.
“He’s not property, Mom,” I said softly. “He’s a person. And I don’t let toxic people around my son.”
I tapped the intercom button. “Drive on, Marcus.”
Het raam ging omhoog, waardoor Elaines gehuil werd afgesneden. De limousine reed weg, langs de verhuiswagen en de afbladderende verf van het huis dat mijn gevangenis was geweest.
Ik keek niet achterom. Ik keek vooruit, naar de open weg en naar het slapende gezicht van de jongen die me had gered door er simpelweg te zijn.
We waren vrij. En we waren rijk. Maar bovenal waren we vrij.
