Chapter 3 - The Threat of Exposure
"This isn't over, Sarah!" Vanessa hissed, her voice dropping to a low, vicious snarl as she realized she had no cards left to play. She stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the concrete patio. "You think you're so smart? You think because you're a big shot doctor you can just ruin my life? I will sue you for libel! I will take everything you have!"
"With what money, Vanessa?" I asked, my voice calm, almost pitying. "You are broke. You’ve been living a lie funded by my hard work and Dad’s savings. And the moment you decided to use your tongue to poison my son's spirit was the exact moment your free ride came to a grinding halt."
Richard slowly stood up beside her. He didn't look at her. He looked at the bank statements, then at me, and finally at my father.
"I didn't know," Richard said, his voice choking back tears. "Mr. Sterling... I swear to God, I didn't know she took a dime from your retirement. She told me she was handling your investments. She told me everything was fine."
"I know, Richard," Dad said gently, walking over and placing a heavy, comforting hand on his son-in-law's shoulder. "You're a good man. But you married a snake."
"How dare you!" Vanessa screamed, turning on our father. "I did everything for this family! I made us look good! I kept up our reputation while Sarah brought her... her defective child to every event and embarrassed us!"
Smack.
The sound of my mother's hand connecting with Vanessa's cheek echoed across the yard.
My mother, who had spent her entire life playing the peacekeeper, who had begged me to keep the secret to avoid a scene, stood tall. Her face was pale with a mixture of fury and deep, profound disappointment.
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"Get out of my yard, Vanessa," Mom said, her voice shaking but absolutely firm. "Get out, and do not come back until you have learned how to be a human being."
Vanessa clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with shock. She looked at Richard, but he walked away, heading toward the house to find their children and leave. With a final, venomous glare at me and Leo, Vanessa grabbed her designer purse and ran down the driveway, her high heels clicking frantically on the pavement.
