Chapter 2 - Severing the Strings
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Outside, Brenda began to pound on the door again, screaming my name.
I ignored her, walking straight into the nursery I had painted entirely by myself.
I sat in the rocking chair, holding Maya close to my chest until the pounding finally stopped and I heard her car tires screech away.
The silence that followed was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
But the adrenaline was still coursing through my veins.
I knew my mother and my sister better than anyone else in the world.
They were not going to let this go easily.
They viewed my bank account as their personal emergency fund, and they would try to force me back into submission.
I laid Maya gently in her crib and grabbed my laptop.
It was time to sever the strings they had used to control me for the past decade.
I logged into my online banking portal.
For years, I had kept a joint account with Brenda to "help out with household expenses" when I lived at home.
Even after I moved out, she occasionally overdrew it, forcing me to cover the fees.
I transferred every single cent of my own money out of that joint account.
Then, I initiated the paperwork to have my name permanently removed from it.
Next, I canceled the streaming services they had been using on my dime.
I removed Jessica’s phone line from my family plan.
May you like
With every click of the mouse, another heavy chain fell off my shoulders.
I was terrifyingly alone, but for the first time in my life, I was truly free.
