Chapter 5 - The Confrontation at Sunset Manor
The rain had turned into a full-driven snowstorm by seven o'clock that evening.
In the condo, Lily had eaten three slices of warm buttered toast and a bowl of chicken soup, and was now fast asleep on the living room sofa, wrapped in a plush wool blanket. Maya sat beside her, holding a mug of warm tea, her tired eyes watching Victor as he walked out of the master bedroom holding the manila envelope and the black ledger.
Victor didn't say a word. He laid both items gently on the coffee table in front of Maya.
Maya looked down at the documents, then up at Victor. Her expression did not change; there was no surprise in her eyes, only a quiet, painful satisfaction.
"You read it," she said flatly.
"I read it," Victor replied, his voice terrifyingly hollow. "I read every single word."
He walked over to the closet, pulled on a heavy coat, and picked up his car keys.
"Where are you going?" Maya asked, a sudden flicker of alarm in her voice.
"I am going to pay my mother a visit," Victor said, his storm-gray eyes flashing with a dark, dangerous fire that Maya had never seen in him before. "Stay here. Lock the door from the inside. There is food in the kitchen and money in the drawer beside the stove. I will be back in two hours."
Before Maya could reply, Victor turned and walked out into the snowstorm, slamming the heavy wooden door behind him.
Thirty minutes later, Victor walked into the grand, carpeted lobby of Sunset Manor Retirement Community in Westmont. The facility was luxurious, lit by warm brass chandeliers and filled with the scent of fresh pine needles and expensive polish—funded, in part, by the interest on a stolen $42,000 high-yield CD.
Victor walked past the front desk staff without signing in, his heavy snow-covered boots leaving dirty tracks across the pristine cream carpet.
He reached Room 214 on the second floor and pushed the door open without knocking.
Evelyn Hayes was sitting in a plush armchair near the window, wearing an elegant mauve cardigan, drinking tea from a china cup while watching the evening news on a flat-screen television.
She jumped in surprise as the door slammed against the wall.
"Victor!" Evelyn gasped, clutching her pearls with a frail, spotted hand. "Good heavens, you scared me to death! What on earth are you doing here at this hour in the middle of a snowstorm?"
Victor walked into the center of the room, standing over her like a towering statue of ice. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out the black leather ledger, and dropped it onto her lap.
Evelyn looked down at the ledger, and for a fraction of a second, her polite, maternal smile faltered.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, her voice dropping its warm tone, becoming sharp and defensive. "Victor, you have no right going through my private drawers—"
"Where is the $42,000, Evelyn?" Victor interrupted, his voice raspy and devoid of any human warmth.
Evelyn scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't be ridiculous! That money was saved using my condominium! I was simply recovering the costs of housing that ungrateful girl for five years! She was a tramp, Victor! She took advantage of you, and I protected you!"
"She was pregnant," Victor said quietly.
Evelyn froze.
"She was pregnant with my daughter," Victor repeated, stepping closer, his shadow completely covering his mother. "She left a sealed envelope on the table four years ago with medical records and a legal notice proving she was innocent. You took it. You hid it in your drawer. You let my wife and my child freeze on the street for four years while you sat in this luxury apartment using their money."
Evelyn’s face drained of color, but her arrogance did not shatter. She straightened her posture, glaring up at her son.
"She was unfit for you, Victor!" Evelyn hissed venomously. "She was a common logistics worker! She didn't respect me! She didn't obey this family! If I hadn't gotten rid of her, she would have ruined your life!"
Victor looked down at the woman who had raised him—the woman he had obeyed, trusted, and protected his entire life.
In that moment, he felt no anger, no hatred, only a profound, sickening disgust.
"You aren't my mother," Victor whispered softly. "You're a thief. And a monster."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen.
"Who are you calling?" Evelyn demanded, her voice rising in sudden panic. "Victor! Put that phone away!"
"I'm calling the Cook County State's Attorney's Office," Victor said calmly as the phone began to ring. "I'm reporting an grand larceny of $42,000 from a marital account, elder financial fraud, and evidence tampering. And tomorrow morning, my lawyer will file an emergency motion to revoke your power of attorney and freeze every single bank account under your name."
Evelyn gasped, springing out of her armchair with surprising speed, reaching out to grab his sleeve. "Victor! You can't do this to your own mother! I did it for you! I loved you!"
Victor pulled his arm away from her touch as if she were a venomous snake.
"Don't ever touch me again," Victor said coldly, stepping backward toward the door as the operator on the phone answered.
May you like
"Cook County Emergency Services, what is your location?"
"My name is Victor Hayes," Victor said clearly into the receiver, staring straight into his mother's terrified, pale face. "I want to report a grand theft..."
