Chapter 2 - The Mother-in-Law’s Audacity
The bright Arizona sun rose over Camelback Mountain, pouring golden light across my hotel balcony as room service delivered black coffee and sliced grapefruit. My phone began vibrating violently against the glass table at precisely eight in the morning.
It was Gloria.
I took a slow sip of coffee, composed my features into complete neutrality, and swiped the green icon to answer.
"Harper, why haven't you answered my text from last night?" Gloria’s shrill, demanding voice cut through the speaker without even the pretense of a morning greeting. "I distinctly told you that Monday’s deposit must be cleared early because Brooke has a designer nursery consultation scheduled at noon."
"Good morning, Gloria," I said, leaning back into the wicker chair. "How is your experimental immunotherapy treatment progressing? The doctors must be pleased with your miraculous energy."
There was a split-second pause on the other end, the slight hesitation of a grifter who wasn't sure if her mark had caught the scent.
"Well, you know how delicate my heart is," Gloria quickly recovered, her voice dropping into a rehearsed, theatrical wheeze. "The infusions are exhausting, but the doctors say the private treatments are the only thing keeping the fluid out of my lungs. Which is why you cannot afford to be petty right now, Harper."
"Petty?" I echoed softly.
"Yes, petty!" Gloria barked, dropping the sick-patient routine immediately. "Trent explained everything to me. You were always too cold, too obsessed with your job sites, never giving that poor boy a home. Brooke is doing what you failed to do for half a decade. The least you can do, after wasting his youth, is make sure his child has a stable financial beginning."
"You knew about her six months ago, didn't you, Gloria?" I asked, keeping my voice gentle, almost curious. "When you cried at my kitchen table about medical bills, Brooke was already living in that luxury condo in North Scottsdale."
Gloria scoffed, completely unbothered by the accusation. "A mother protects her son's happiness, Harper. You have millions of dollars sitting in development funds. What is sixty-five thousand a month to someone like you? It's pocket change! Don't let your bitterness turn you into an ugly person."
"I see," I said, tapping the record button on my secondary tablet to ensure Evelyn had the complete audio file. "And what does Brooke think about living in my house?"
"She loves the backyard view," Gloria boasted with sickening pride. "She's already picking out new marble for the kitchen islands because she says your taste looks like a sterile hospital waiting room. Now make sure that wire goes through by ten o'clock sharp."
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"Have a wonderful day, Gloria," I whispered, ending the call before she could reply.
I sat in the morning sun, staring down at my wedding band—a platinum circle I had bought myself because Trent claimed his funds were temporarily tied up in venture capital. I twisted it off my finger, watched it roll across the glass tabletop, and tossed it into the trash can beside my desk.
