Chapter 8 - The Trap Closes
Two days later, my mother and Vanessa called an emergency 'family summit' at our family home. Convinced that Adam was simply having cold feet and that I had been sufficiently silenced by the threat of losing my health insurance, they believed they still held all the cards.
Adam wheeled me into the grand foyer of our family manor.
Vanessa was lounging on the velvet sofa, sipping a mimosa, wearing a diamond tennis bracelet that had belonged to our grandmother. When she saw me, her lips curled into a patronizing pout.
"Oh, look who survived her dramatic little splash," Vanessa purred. "I hope you’re ready to apologize, Mara. Because of your little tantrum, my honeymoon to Bora Bora was postponed!"
"Vanessa, be quiet," Evelyn commanded, walking in from the study with a stack of legal documents. "Mara, your silence has cost us fifty thousand dollars in emergency public relations. But we are willing to be generous. Sign over your power of attorney to me permanently, and I will allow you to live in the carriage house behind the main estate. We will even cover your physical therapy bills."
"And if I refuse?" I asked, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins.
May you like
"If you refuse," Evelyn said, leaning down until her face was inches from mine, "I will ensure you are committed to a state psychiatric ward. I have already drafted statements from three different private therapists stating that your paranoia makes you a danger to yourself and others. Who do you think a judge will believe? A crippled, unemployed girl with a history of depression, or your upstanding, philanthropic mother?"
"They will believe the truth," a deep voice boomed from the entryway.
