Chapter 5 - Packing Bags in the Rain
Outside, the late summer sky had turned an ominous, bruised purple. A sudden crack of thunder rattled the large picture windows of our living room, and within seconds, heavy sheets of rain began pounding against the glass.
Inside, the silence was absolute. Patricia looked like a ghost standing in the middle of our foyer. Her grand illusion—the wealthy, generous matriarch bestowing her presence upon her grateful son—had collapsed entirely into dust. Nicole was staring at her mother in sheer horror.
"Mama?" Nicole gasped, her voice shaking violently. "Is that true? Did you... did you lose the condo money? You told me you put three hundred thousand in a trust fund for my baby! You told me we were going to buy a townhouse together next spring!"
Patricia wouldn't look at her daughter. Her eyes darted around the luxurious living room, searching desperately for an escape, for a scapegoat, for anything that could save her from the truth. "It was an investment... the markets were volatile... I was trying to double it for us, Nicole..."
"You spent it at the blackjack tables!" Nicole shrieked, completely forgetting her polished persona. "You lost my baby’s money at a casino?!"
"Shut up, Nicole!" Patricia hissed, turning viciously on her own daughter. "You haven't paid a dime in rent in three years! You got knocked up by a deadbeat mechanic who dumped you at a gas station! Don't you dare lecture me about responsibility!"
Watching them tear each other apart in the center of our home was both pitiful and sickening. I leaned against the counter, the pain in my hand throbbing in sync with my heartbeat. The dish towel was completely saturated now; I had to grab a roll of paper towels to wrap tightly over it.
Ethan walked over to the front closet, yanked open the door, and pulled out Patricia’s three designer suitcases and Nicole’s oversized duffel bags. He dragged them across the foyer and hauled them up the curved staircase toward the guest wing.
"Ethan! Stop!" Patricia cried, scurrying after him in her designer slippers. "What are you doing? You can't put us out in a storm! Look outside! It’s pouring!"
Five minutes later, Ethan marched down the stairs carrying four heavy bags. He didn't bother using the handles; he carried them two in each hand, his face set in stone. He walked straight past his mother, strode across the entryway, opened the front door, and hurled all four bags out onto the covered front porch.
"Ethan!" Nicole shrieked, hurrying to the doorway. "My clothes are in those bags! That’s silk!"
"You have ten minutes to grab whatever else is upstairs and get off this property," Ethan said, turning around to face them. His chest was heaving, his voice completely devoid of mercy. "If you are not off my driveway by 5:30 PM, I am calling the local precinct. I will press charges for aggravated battery against you, Mom. And I will hand over the 4K video recording, along with the audio of Nicole orchestrating a false police report."
"You wouldn't send your own mother to prison," Patricia stammered, though her hands were shaking so hard she could barely hold her designer purse. "The scandal... what will people say about your family?"
"You stopped being my family the second you tried to smash my wife’s face with a bowl," Ethan replied. "The clock is ticking. Nine minutes."
Nicole broke down first. The reality of Ethan’s fury, combined with the loss of her mother’s supposed fortune, shattered her resolve. She bolted up the stairs, sobbing hysterically, throwing whatever random shoes and toiletries she could find into her remaining tote bags.
Patricia lingered at the bottom of the stairs, staring at Ethan with raw, unadulterated hatred. All the fake affection, all the southern-belle charm, was stripped away.
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"You will regret this," Patricia whispered, her venomous voice barely audible over the roaring storm outside. "Without me, you are nothing. She will leave you, Ethan. When you're broken, broken and alone, don't you dare come crawling back to my door."
"You don't have a door to crawl to, Mom," Ethan said calmly. "Get out."
