Chapter 7 - The Ultimatum
My father sat entirely motionless, his mouth half-open, looking like a man staring down the barrel of an oncoming freight train. ""What choices, Lorraine? You know we don't have a million dollars liquid. Derek's businesses went under. The money is gone. There's nothing left in the bank accounts to hand over.""
""I know exactly what is left,"" Aunt Lorraine said, pulling another document from her portfolio. ""Your home in Wexford has zero mortgage on it. Arthur paid off your note thirty years ago as a wedding gift. It’s currently appraised at seven hundred and eighty thousand dollars. In addition, you have a four-hundred-thousand-dollar retirement annuity that isn't fully shielded from fraud recovery claims under state law.""
""You want us to sell our home?"" my mother gasped, lifting her tear-streaked face from the cushion. ""Where are we supposed to live? On the street? In an assisted living facility?""
""You can rent a two-bedroom apartment,"" I said, stepping forward, the words tumbling out before I even had time to second-guess myself. ""Just like I did. You can take the bus. You can learn how adversity builds character, Mom. Isn't that what you preached to me for ten years?""
My mother recoiled as if I had slapped her across the face. She looked at me with genuine disbelief, realizing for the very first time that the sweet, compliant girl who had always absorbed their cruelty had vanished forever.
Aunt Lorraine laid the document down in front of my father. ""Here are the terms of the settlement agreement my attorney drafted. Choice number one: You voluntarily sign over the deed to the Wexford house to Hannah. Hannah will allow you ninety days to vacate the premises so it can be placed on the market and sold. The proceeds will go directly into an escrow account to reimburse her stolen trust fund, along with five percent compounded statutory interest for the years you withheld it. You will also liquidate three hundred thousand dollars of your annuity to cover the legal fees and the outstanding balance.""
""And if I refuse?"" my father asked, his voice shaking violently. ""If I fight this in court?""
""Choice number two,"" Aunt Lorraine said, leaning down until her face was inches from his, ""is that the Allegheny County District Attorney takes over Harold Miller's deposition on Monday. By Wednesday, warrants will be issued for you, Evelyn, and Harold for conspiracy, grand larceny, and felony forgery. And because Derek knowingly accepted stolen trust funds into his LLC account with forged endorsements, he will be named as an unindicted co-conspirator. He’ll lose his contractor's license, his house will be subjected to asset forfeiture, and all three of you can share a public defender.""
Derek let out a strangled groan, grabbing his hair with both hands. ""Dad, sign it! Sign whatever she wants! I can't go to jail! I have Chloe and Liam! If I get indicted, Sarah’s parents will sue for full custody of the kids! You have to sign it right now!""
""Shut up, Derek!"" my mother shrieked. ""He’s signing away our entire life! Everything we built!""
""You didn't build it!"" Aunt Lorraine bellowed, slamming the portfolio closed with a sound like a gunshot. ""Arthur built it! Arthur worked forty years in steel and agriculture to provide for his family, and you stole his legacy to feed a parasite! You have until midnight tonight, Richard. Sign the preliminary transfer of deed, or I personally deliver the forensic audit files to Detective Kowalski at the central precinct.""
My father looked at the pen resting beside the paper. He looked at Derek, who was practically hyperventilating against the wall, entirely consumed by selfish terror. Then he looked at my mother, whose face was twisted into a mask of bitter, impotent hatred. Finally, he looked up at me.
""Hannah,"" he whispered, his eyes watery and pleading. ""Please. Talk to your aunt. Tell her this is too much. You know we love you. We did what we thought was best for the family as a whole. Don't throw your mother and father out of their home.""
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I looked down at the man who had abandoned me on a snowy highway, who had stolen my future to indulge a reckless brother, and who had never once apologized for any of it.
""Sign the paper, Dad,"" I said quietly. ""Or watch Derek get arrested. Those are your only options.""
