Chapter 4 - The Ambush at the Door
The peace didn't last long.
At 4:30 PM, just as the kids were finishing their homework in the living room, a heavy knock echoed through the house.
I didn't even need to look through the peephole to know who it was.
Tom stood up immediately, gesturing for me to stay with the kids.
I followed him to the hallway anyway, standing just out of sight as he swung the front door open.
My father stood on the porch, looking older and far more disheveled than he had the night before.
"I need to speak to Sarah," Dad said, trying to push past Tom.
Tom didn't budge an inch, his broad shoulders completely blocking the doorway.
"Sarah isn't available to you right now," Tom said calmly.
"I am her father, Tom, and this is family business," my dad huffed, trying to sound authoritative.
"You lost the right to call yourself her family the second you chose Chloe over your own grandchildren," Tom fired back.
I stepped out from the shadows, stepping up beside my husband.
Dad's eyes locked onto mine, and instantly, the manipulative tears welled up.
"Sarah, please, you embarrassed me in front of the whole family," he pleaded.
"You stuck Mark with a massive bill, and he's threatening to sue me."
"You need to transfer the money to Mark today so we can put this ugly mess behind us."
I stared at him, marveling at the audacity.
"I paid a $750 deposit for a room that you kicked me out of," I said, my voice steady and cold.
"You told me to leave."
"You sat there while Chloe called your grandchildren annoying, and you threw us out."
"I left, just like you asked."
Dad waved his hand dismissively, the way he always did when my feelings were inconvenient.
"You know how your sister is, she was stressed, she didn't mean it!"
"She absolutely meant it, and you validated it," I replied, refusing to back down.
"I will not pay $2,100 for a dinner I did not eat, celebrating a man who doesn't protect my children."
Dad's face hardened, the fake tears evaporating instantly.
"If you don't pay this, you are dead to me," he spat, pointing a shaking finger at my face.
Tom reached out, grabbed the door handle, and looked my father dead in the eye.
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"Don't threaten us with a good time, Richard," Tom said.
And then he slammed the door right in my father's face.
