Chapter 3 - THE SISTER'S ARRIVAL
By 2:00 PM the next day, I was officially discharged from St. Mary’s Hospital.
My ribs were taped, my left arm was in a black sling, and my neck was sore, but I refused to stay in that bed a second longer than necessary.
Grandpa Arthur had hired a private medical transport car to drive Noah and me directly to his historical home in Concord—a beautiful, gated estate that my mother had spent years trying to convince Grandpa to put in Chloe’s name.
We were sitting in Grandpa’s spacious, sunlit library, surrounded by rows of leather-bound books and legal files, when the front gates buzzed violently.
Grandpa looked at the security camera monitor on his desk.
Standing at the wrought-iron gate, wearing a $2,000 designer beige trench coat, large dark sunglasses, and holding a pristine leather handbag, was my younger sister, Chloe.
"Speak of the devil," Grandpa muttered, pressing the speaker button. "Can I help you, Chloe?"
"Grandpa!" Chloe’s voice shrieked through the intercom, high-pitched and hysterical. "Open the gate! Mom called me from the ship's satellite phone crying! Something went wrong with her credit cards! The cruise line blocked their room, and Mom said Emily stopped her monthly transfer!"
Grandpa looked at me. I gave him a simple nod.
"Come up to the main house, Chloe," Grandpa said calmly, pressing the gate release button.
Three minutes later, the heavy oak front doors flew open. Chloe stormed into the library, her heels clicking loudly on the hardwood floor.
"Grandpa! Do you have any idea what’s going on?!" Chloe demanded, ignoring me entirely as she marched up to his desk. "Mom is stuck in her cabin! The ship management told her that her $4,500 monthly deposit bounced, and her secondary card declined $3,200! She had to use Dad's emergency medical credit card just to buy internet access!"
She finally turned toward the leather armchair near the fireplace where I was sitting, cradling Noah in my good arm.
Chloe gasped, her fake sympathy turning on like a light switch.
"Oh! Emily! You're... you're here!" Chloe said, taking a half-step toward me before stopping. "Mom told me about your little car bump. I’m glad you’re okay, but honestly, Emily, did you really have to cancel Mom's payment right before her flight? It’s so petty! You know how hard Mom worked to plan this vacation!"
"My little car bump?" I repeated softly, looking at my sister.
Her trench coat was tailored. Her diamond earrings were sparkling. Her handbag was an original Birkin—a bag that cost $18,000.
I looked at her, realizing that every single item she was wearing had been bought with the money stolen from my bank account while I drove an old car and lived on canned soup.
"I had three broken ribs, Chloe," I said, my voice icy. "Noah was pulled out of the backseat by paramedics while I was trapped in the wreckage. When I called Mom from the stretcher, she told me she couldn't help because you never have emergencies."
Chloe rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses, pushing them up onto her head. "Okay, look, Mom was stressed! She’s been working so hard lately! You know how fragile her nerves are!"
"Working hard at what, Chloe?" Grandpa Arthur interjected, his voice sharp as a razor. "Working hard at real estate speculation?"
Chloe stiffened. "What?"
Grandpa stood up from his leather chair, holding a thick red folder. He walked around the mahogany desk and tossed a glossy document onto the coffee table right in front of Chloe.
It was a property title deed for a luxury two-bedroom condo in South Boston, purchased three months ago for $680,000.
Owner listed: CHLOE ELIZABETH REID.
"Where did you get the $200,000 down payment for this condo, Chloe?" Grandpa asked politely. "Your art gallery in SoHo lost $45,000 last year according to your public tax filings."
May you like
Chloe’s face drained of color. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting between Grandpa and me. "I... I got a private investor! A patron of my art!"
"The patron's name was Emily Reid," I said, standing up slowly, holding Noah tight. "Except Emily Reid didn't know she was patronizing your life. She thought she was paying for her father's heart medication and keeping her parents from losing their home."
