Chapter 3 - The Confrontation Downstairs
The walk down the wooden stairs felt like a slow, deliberate march to a battlefield.
I could hear the sickening sound of Christmas music still playing cheerfully in the warm dining room.
Mark and Claudia were laughing over their expensive wine, completely unbothered by the fact that they had left a boy freezing in the snow.
I stepped into the brightly lit dining room with Ethan hiding quietly behind my broad shoulders.
The laughter instantly died in Claudia’s throat as she noticed the heavy duffel bag in Ethan’s hand.
“I see you’re actually taking him,” she sneered, setting her crystal glass down on the fancy table.
“Good riddance, maybe now we can finally enjoy our holiday in peace.”
I stared at the woman sitting in my house, pretending to be the queen of a castle she did not own.
“You seem to have forgotten a very crucial piece of information about this property, Claudia,” I said calmly.
Mark looked up nervously, wiping his mouth with a linen napkin.
“Dad, please don't cause a scene, it's Christmas Eve,” my cowardly son pleaded weakly.
“I bought this house entirely in cash ten years ago, and my name is the only one on the official deed,” I reminded them, raising my voice so it echoed off the walls.
“I allowed you to live here rent-free so you could provide a good life for my grandson after his mother died.”
Claudia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her expensive green dress.
“We pay the utilities, so we have tenant rights,” she argued with a smug, arrogant smirk.
“Tenant rights won't matter where the two of you are going,” I replied, slamming the heavy metal lockbox directly onto the dining table.
The expensive crystal wine glasses rattled violently as the metal box hit the solid wood.
Mark’s face instantly turned the color of chalk, his eyes locking onto the scratched metal box he clearly recognized.
“Where did you get that?” Claudia shrieked, instantly jumping out of her chair in sheer panic.
“I found it exactly where you hid it, along with the fake vitamins and the two million dollar insurance policies,” I stated loudly.
Mark buried his face in his hands, trembling uncontrollably as the dark truth was finally exposed to the light.
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“You are slowly poisoning my grandson in my own house,” I roared, letting my anger completely take over.
“You have exactly ten minutes to pack your bags and get off my property before the police arrive to arrest you both for attempted murder.”
