Chapter 6 - Audits and Old Receipts
I walked over to the filing cabinet behind my desk, pulled open the lower drawer, and withdrew a thick manila folder labeled Whitaker Family - Elm Street.
I hadn't just spent the last twelve years building furniture; I had spent them learning how the world actually worked. When Mom sold the family duplex six months ago, she thought she was doing it quietly. But in a small county, real estate transactions are public record. Furthermore, two of my restoration clients were prominent local attorneys, and one was the county probate clerk.
"Diane," I said into the microphone, deliberately using my mother's first name.
She flinched visibly on the screen. "Don't you dare call me Diane! I am your mother!"
"You sold Grandma Elaine’s duplex for three hundred and eighty thousand dollars in August," I read directly from the public registry document in my hand. "That house was left to you with a explicit stipulation in her will that if it was ever sold, twenty-five percent of the net proceeds were to be held in trust for my college education or housing."
A stunned silence fell over the gravel driveway. Mallory turned her head sharply toward Mom.
"What is she talking about, Mom?" Mallory hissed. "You told me Grandma left the house entirely to you!"
Mom’s face paled, then flushed a violent crimson. "That will was outdated! Paige abandoned this family at nineteen! She walked out on us to live some rebellious lifestyle! She gave up her rights to that estate!"
"I didn't abandon you, Diane. You handed me two trash bags, two cans of soup, and told me to lie to the neighbors so you wouldn't look bad for throwing me out to give Grant my bedroom." My voice cut through the intercom like a freshly honed chisel. "And as for the money? You didn't use that three hundred and eighty thousand dollars to find a new home. You gave two hundred thousand to Grant to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that evaporated in forty-eight hours, and you spent the rest paying off his personal credit card debts and Mallory's leased luxury SUV."
Grant took an uneasy step backward toward the truck cab, avoiding Mallory's furious gaze.
"You didn't come here because you missed me," I continued. "You didn't come here to apologize for twelve years of silence. You came here because you are completely broke, Grant has ruined every financial opportunity he has ever touched, and you looked at my hard work as your personal bailout fund."
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Mallory grabbed the intercom unit on the gate post, her knuckles turning white. "So what if we made mistakes, Paige?! We have three children! Are you really going to leave your own flesh and blood out on the street over money?!"
"You didn't care about flesh and blood when I was sleeping on frozen ground behind an auto yard," I whispered into the mic. "You drove right past me in a warm car."
