Chapter 4 - A Mother’s True Colors
Patricia stood frozen in the middle of our great room, her outstretched hand dropping limp against her side. For years, she had relied on guilt, manipulation, and the sacred title of "Mother" to bend Ethan to her every whim. She had convinced him that family loyalty meant endless financial bailouts, blind obedience, and enduring any insult with a smile. But looking at Ethan now, she finally realized the terrifying truth: the leash had snapped.
"Ethan, you have to understand the pressure I’ve been under," Patricia began, her voice oscillating wildly between whines and veiled threats. "Ever since I sold my condo, I haven't had a permanent roof over my head. I gave you my youth! I sacrificed my life for you and your sister! And now you're treating me like a common criminal over a kitchen accident?"
"It wasn't an accident, Mom," Ethan said, his voice flat and dead. "You threw a weapon at my wife. That is a felony."
Nicole puffed up her chest, her survival instincts kicking in. She stepped beside their mother, her eyes narrowing at Ethan. "A felony? Are you serious, Ethan? You're going to use legal jargon against your own mother? Look at me! I am carrying your niece! If you stress Mama out, you stress me out, and if something happens to my baby, it will be on your hands! Do you want that on your conscience?"
Ethan turned his gaze slowly to Nicole. "You sat on that stool, Nicole. You watched our mother throw that bowl. You saw Clara bleeding all over the counter, and you laughed. Then, when I walked through that door, you lied to my face without missing a beat. You tried to frame my wife for a violent attack."
"I was protecting our family!" Nicole shouted defensively. "Clara is an outsider! She’s always looked down on us because her family has old money! She thinks she’s better than us just because she drives a luxury SUV and can afford organic groceries! She refused to cook for me, Ethan! She was starving your unborn niece!"
"The meat was rotten, you idiot!" Ethan snapped, pointing at the rancid rack of lamb that was still sitting on the cutting board, flies already beginning to hover over its discolored surface. "Look at it! It’s gray! It’s warm! If Clara had cooked that for you, you could have contracted listeria or salmonella! It could have killed your child! Clara was literally protecting you and your baby from your own mother’s stupidity, and you mocked her for it!"
Nicole’s mouth clamped shut. She glanced sideways at the meat, then looked away, unable to defend the indefensible.
Patricia, realizing that appeals to emotion and sisterly tears were failing, abruptly switched tactics. The frail, weeping mother vanished. In her place emerged the bitter, entitled woman who had terrorized Ethan’s father until the day he divorced her.
"Fine," Patricia spat, her voice hardening like concrete. "You want to play the tough guy, Ethan? Let’s play. Let’s talk about reality. I sold my condo for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. I have that money sitting in an account. I was going to use that money to pay off the remainder of your mortgage. I was going to make sure Nicole and her baby had a secure future under this roof. But if you throw me out, you won't see a single cent of it. You will be dead to me. You will never see your niece. You will be completely cut off from this family."
Ethan let out a low, dry chuckle that held no humor whatsoever. "Mom, you sold your condo four months ago. I know for a fact that you haven't got four hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
Patricia stiffened noticeably. "What are you talking about?"
"I’m an accountant and a financial consultant, remember?" Ethan replied coldly. "I saw your mail when it came to this house last week. I saw the statements from the casino in Atlantic City. I saw the collection notices from American Express."
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Patricia’s face drained of color for the second time that afternoon. She looked as if Ethan had physically struck her across the jaw.
"You don't have a single penny left from that condo, do you, Mom?" Ethan whispered, stepping closer to her, his voice dripping with sorrow and disgust. "You gambled away your entire life savings in four months. That’s why you moved in here. That’s why you brought Nicole with you. You didn't come here to visit. You came here to parasite off Clara and me because you have nowhere else in the world left to go."
