Chapter 5 - The Secret Visit
Two days later, I was sitting in my living room reading a novel when the doorbell rang unexpectedly.
I looked through the peephole and saw David, Clara's husband, standing nervously on my front porch.
I hesitated for a moment, debating whether I should even open the door.
Finally, I unlatched the deadbolt and pulled the door open just a few inches.
"Margaret, please, I just need five minutes of your time," David pleaded, looking exhausted and entirely desperate.
I stepped back, allowing him into the foyer, but I did not offer him a seat or a drink.
"Clara doesn't know I am here," he began, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.
"She is completely losing her mind because her credit cards were declined this morning."
I had canceled the emergency platinum card I had given her years ago, the one she supposedly only used for "groceries."
"That sounds like a personal problem for you and your wife to handle, David," I replied coldly.
"Margaret, she is drowning in debt," David confessed, his voice cracking with sheer panic.
"She has taken out loans I didn't know about, and we are two months behind on our mortgage."
"She was banking on using your holiday cash gift to pay the bank this week."
I stared at the man my daughter had married, feeling absolutely zero pity for either of them.
"She assaulted me, David," I reminded him, pointing directly at the fading yellow bruise on my face.
"You stood there and watched her hit me, and you did absolutely nothing to stop her."
"I am officially done funding your pathetic, toxic lifestyle."
"Tell Clara that if she ever comes near my property again, I will have her arrested for trespassing and assault."
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I opened the front door wide, gesturing for him to leave immediately.
David hung his head in total defeat and walked slowly out to his car.
