Chapter 6 - The Fall of the House of Cards
The morning after the disastrous party, the story had spread like wildfire through the community. The local news picked up on the story of the high-flying corporate fraudster who had abused his own mother and locked her in a laundry room to steal her home. Derek’s reputation was completely destroyed overnight.
By noon, process servers arrived at the front door, delivering formal eviction notices and criminal summonses to Derek, Melissa, and Evelyn.
I sat with my mother in the living room, which was slowly being cleared of Melissa’s sterile furniture. Movers I had hired were bringing back my mother’s original oak furniture from the storage unit where Derek had dumped it.
My mother sat on the plush sofa, wrapped in a soft cashmere blanket I had bought for her, sipping warm chamomile tea. Her knee was bound in a professional brace provided by a private doctor I had hired to examine her that morning.
"Iris..." my mother said softly, her voice still timid. "Where will Derek go? He has no money left..."
"Mom," I said gently, taking her hands. "Derek is thirty-two years old. He made choices to steal from you, to let his wife abuse you, and to lock you away like a secret disgrace. You need to stop protecting the people who hurt you."
She closed her eyes, tears spilling over her lashes, but she nodded slowly. The years of psychological manipulation were finally beginning to break.
Outside, shouting erupted in the driveway.
I stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Derek and Melissa were throwing suitcases into the back of their leased luxury SUV. But standing in front of the vehicle were two repo men, hooking the car up to a tow truck.
"You can't take this car! The lease is paid!" Melissa screamed, pulling at the repo officer's arm.
"Lease was paid with funds from a frozen account, ma'am," the tow truck operator replied indifferently. "Bank issued an immediate repossession order. Step back."
Derek stood on the pavement, his suit rumpled, his hair unkempt, staring blankly as his luxury car was hoisted into the air.
Melissa turned on him like a feral cat. "You useless coward! You told me your sister was never coming back! You told me this house was ours! Look at us! We're bankrupt! My mother is facing criminal charges, and we have nowhere to go!"
"Shut up, Melissa!" Derek yelled back, his voice cracking with hysteria. "You're the one who insisted on redecorating! You're the one who made my mother clean the floor!"
"I hate you!" Melissa slapped him hard across the face, dragged her luggage onto the sidewalk, and stormed off down the street, calling an Uber.
Derek stood alone on the asphalt, surrounded by three overstuffed suitcases, shivering in the cool afternoon breeze. He looked up at the window and saw me standing there.
May you like
He took a step toward the house, his hands raised in a desperate plea. "Iris... please... just let me stay in the guest room for a week... until I find a job..."
I pulled the velvet drapes shut, turning my back on him completely.
