Chapter 2 - The Facade Cracks
Derek went dead silent on the line. For five solid seconds, the only sound was the distant rumble of the crossover's engine and the muffled sound of a radio playing in the background. My brother had never heard me use that tone with him in his life. He was accustomed to hearing me sigh, hang my head, and quietly yield whenever my mother demanded that I hand over my savings, my time, or my dignity.
""Hannah?"" he sputtered, his voice suddenly pitching up an octave. ""Are you serious right now? You’re going to throw me in jail over a car you didn’t even pay for? Aunt Lorraine bought it! It’s family money! What difference does it make which one of us drives it?""
""The difference,"" Aunt Lorraine cut in, her voice freezing the air in the room, ""is that I bought it for Hannah because Hannah works forty-eight hours a week saving children's lives. I did not buy it for a thirty-four-year-old child who hasn’t held a steady job since he convinced his father to mortgage their rental property to fund a failed microbrewery. You have eighteen minutes, Derek. Turn the car around and get your tail over here, or spend the weekend in county lockup.""
She tapped the red icon, severing the call before Derek could formulate another excuse.
My mother stood up so violently that her dining chair toppled backward, striking the hardwood floor with a heavy thud. ""You wicked, spiteful woman!"" she screamed at Aunt Lorraine. ""How dare you speak to my son like that! How dare you invite us to your birthday dinner just to humiliate us in front of everyone! Hannah is ungrateful, just like you always were! We raised her! We fed her, we put a roof over her head, and the moment she gets a little bit of independence, she turns around and treats us like criminals!""
""You are criminals,"" I said quietly, looking directly into my mother’s furious eyes. The trembling in my chest had vanished, replaced by an eerie, crystal-clear calm. ""You stole a key from my kitchen counter when you came over to borrow sugar. You gave it to Derek because you couldn't stand the fact that I had something nice while your golden boy was taking the bus. You didn't want him to suffer the consequences of his own bad investments, so you decided to rob your daughter instead.""
""We gave you life, Hannah!"" my father bellowed, dropping all pretense of gentlemanly calm. His face was mottled with dark purple veins throbbing at his temples. ""Everything you have in this world is because your mother and I sacrificed for you! When Derek was trying to launch his logistics company, you refused to cosign his business loan! You let your own flesh and blood struggle while you hoarded your nurse's salary in a high-yield savings account! You have no loyalty! No family values! You think you're better than us because you wear scrubs and work at a hospital?""
""I don't think I'm better than anyone, Dad,"" I replied, standing up to meet his glare. ""I just actually work for what I own. I worked three jobs in college while Derek was busy getting suspended from state university for crashing a fraternity golf cart into a library fountain. And by the way, I know who paid for his legal fees back then, too. You told me you couldn't help me buy my nursing textbooks because you were short on cash, but you handed the town magistrate three thousand dollars the very next week to keep Derek out of the newspaper.""
My mother’s eyes widened slightly, caught completely off guard. ""Who told you that?""
""I did,"" Aunt Lorraine said smoothly, picking up her wine glass and taking a delicate sip. ""Because unlike the two of you, Evelyn, I kept the receipts. I kept every single receipt from the day your father passed away ten years ago. And that brings us to the real reason I called this dinner tonight.""
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My father's face suddenly drained of color. He looked from Aunt Lorraine to the antique credenza near the kitchen doorway, where a thick leather portfolio sat resting beside a stack of unopened mail. ""Lorraine... don't do this. Not here. Not in front of the kids.""
""Oh, we are doing this right here, Richard,"" Aunt Lorraine said, setting her glass down with a deliberate click. ""Because for ten years, you let this girl believe she was an orphan living on charity. You let her work night shifts on an empty stomach while you milked the estate dry to keep your useless son from declaring bankruptcy. Derek has fifteen minutes to bring the car back. But you and Evelyn have about fifteen seconds to explain to Hannah why her name was on Grandpa Arthur’s primary commercial trust.""
