Chapter 6 - The Ambush on the Porch
Derek stepped between us, his face twisting into an ugly scowl. He leaned down, placing his face inches from mine, his breath smelling heavily of peppermint gum and stale whiskey.
"You listen to me, Mom," he snarled under his breath, loud enough for three surrounding tables to hear every syllable. "You're playing a dangerous game. You think you can control me with Walter's money? You think because Dad died and left you holding the purse strings, you get to treat me like a child? That money is half mine! It was supposed to be my inheritance!"
"Your father worked fifty years to build that wealth, Derek," I said, my voice dropping into an icy register that made him recoil slightly. "You didn't inherit a penny because your father knew the difference between a legacy and a bailout. You haven't worked an honest forty-hour week since you turned thirty."
"I run a multimillion-dollar logistics firm!" Derek barked, his face purpling.
"You run a failing brokerage firm funded entirely by my collateral," I corrected him calmly. "And as of nine o'clock this morning, First Heritage Bank has revoked your commercial credit line. The warehouse rent is thirty days past due. If you don't vacate the corporate premises by the first of next month, the sheriff will padlock your doors."
Derek froze. The color drained from his cheeks so rapidly it looked as though someone had pulled a plug inside him. "You... you wouldn't. Mom, that's seventy employees. That's my entire reputation!"
"You didn't care about your reputation when you allowed Gina to berate me in my own home," Abby interjected, standing up to her full height and towering over Gina. "You didn't care about your family when you let your wife throw plates while your seven-year-old son cried in the dark, calling Grandma for help. Get out of here, Derek. Before I call the police."
Gina let out a shrill, hysterical laugh. "Call them! Call them right now! Let's see what the judge says when we file an emergency petition for grandparent alienation! You think you're ever going to see Jake and Lily again? You think you can cut us off and still play granny? Over my dead body!"
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"Gina, shut up," Derek muttered suddenly, grabbing her wrist tightly. His confidence had vanished, replaced by a panicked, animalistic desperation. "Mom... wait. Let's talk about this outside. Come on, Mom, you're ruining me. You can't just cut off the mortgage. We'll lose the Brentwood house!"
"Then you had better start packing, son," I said, picking up my purse. "Because the moving trucks will be far cheaper than the lawyers you're about to need."
