Chapter 8 - The Final Confrontation
Exactly thirty days after the phone call, Arthur drove his luxury SUV up the long, winding driveway of his parents' estate.
He didn't come alone; Lily, Leo, and Finn were sitting in the backseat, happily eating chocolate chip cookies.
Arthur parked the car and told the kids to stay inside while he handled the final piece of business.
He walked up the grand stone steps and knocked firmly on the massive oak front door.
Margaret opened the door, looking completely unrecognizable.
Her hair was unkempt, her expensive makeup was gone, and she looked visibly aged by the stress of the past month.
"You actually came to throw us out into the street," Margaret whispered, her voice shaking with genuine fear.
"I came to collect the keys to my property," Arthur corrected her, holding out his hand.
Richard appeared in the hallway behind her, holding two small, battered suitcases.
They had sold almost all of their expensive furniture and artwork just to pay off their immediate personal debts.
"We have absolutely nowhere to go, Arthur," Richard said, his voice entirely broken.
"We are moving into a one-bedroom apartment in the worst part of the city."
Arthur looked at the two people who had made his wife's life miserable and who had tried to break his children's spirits.
"When Sarah was dying in the hospital, we had nowhere to go, and you refused to answer my phone calls," Arthur reminded them coldly.
"You reap exactly what you sow in this life."
Margaret looked past Arthur and saw the SUV parked in the driveway, with her three grandchildren looking out the window.
She raised a trembling hand, trying to wave at them, hoping for a final ounce of pity.
May you like
Lily saw her grandmother waving, but the ten-year-old girl did not smile, and she did not wave back.
Instead, Lily simply rolled up the tinted window, completely shutting her grandmother out of her life forever.
