Chapter 3 - THE HOUSE OF CARDS
The following three weeks were a masterclass in the rapid disassembly of a fake life. By the first week of December, the financial blockade I had initiated at the Thanksgiving table had completely choked Lauren’s lavish lifestyle. Without my automatic payments, her credit cards were instantaneously maxed out by her pending luxury subscriptions, organic grocery deliveries, and Pilates studio memberships.
My phone had been silent for exactly four days before the barrage began. Not from Lauren, but from our parents.
I was sitting in my corner office in Manhattan, looking out over the skyline. My consulting firm, which I had built from the ground up specializing in corporate crisis management, was having its most profitable quarter to date. It was ironic that I managed multinational corporate disasters for a living, yet my own family was a toxic spill I couldn't seem to contain.
My phone buzzed. Mom.
I let out a long breath and answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“Emma, honey,” she began, her voice dripping with that manufactured sweetness she only used when she was about to ask for a monumental favor. “How are you doing? We haven’t heard from you since... well, since the holiday.”
“I’ve been busy, Mom. Work is demanding.”
“Yes, well, about that.” My mother cleared her throat. “Your father and I have been talking. And we’ve been talking to Lauren. Emma, she is in a very bad place. Her landlord just sent a notice of eviction because her December rent bounced. And her car... they’re threatening to repossess her Mercedes.”
“That sounds like a terrible situation,” I replied neutrally, clicking my pen. “Has she considered getting a job?”
“Emma! How can you be so callous?” my mother gasped, genuine shock lacing her words. “She has the children! She can’t just go work at a grocery store! She needs time to figure things out. Your father and I are retired, we can’t afford to pay her rent. You have millions of dollars, Emma. Daniel told us about your company’s valuation. You have more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime. You need to turn those payments back on. Just for another six months. Until she gets on her feet.”
I closed my eyes, a dull ache throbbing behind my temples. The entitlement wasn't just Lauren's; it was generational. “Mom, she has been ‘getting on her feet’ for three years. I gave her three hundred thousand dollars. Do you know what she spent it on? Did Daniel tell you that part?”
Silence on the other end.
“I had my accountants pull the itemized logs before I cut her off,” I continued, my voice hardening. “She wasn't just buying groceries and paying rent. She bought a ten-thousand-dollar Chanel bag in Paris last spring. She stayed at the Four Seasons in Maui for two weeks in August. She’s been living like a Real Housewife on my dime, while telling you all that I was begging her for scrap money. And you believed her.”
“She made mistakes!” my mother defended, her voice rising to a frantic pitch. “She was depressed after the divorce! People cope in different ways! You are her sister, Emma. Family helps family. If you don't turn that money back on, you are going to see your own niece and nephew out on the street. Is that what you want? To punish innocent children?”
“The children aren't innocent, but neither am I,” I said firmly. “I enabled her. I admit that. But it stops now. If she needs housing, she can move into your guest room. If she needs a car, she can buy a used Honda. But she will not see another red cent from me. And if you continue to try and guilt-trip me into funding her delusions, I will block your numbers too.”
“You wouldn't dare,” my mother whispered.
“Watch me.” I hung up the phone.
Ten minutes later, I received a text from Daniel.
Mom is losing her mind. Dad is pacing the floors. Lauren just drove up to their house in tears. You really set a bomb off, Em.
I typed back: I didn't set the bomb. I just stopped paying the ransom.
Daniel replied instantly: For what it's worth... I'm proud of you. I'm coming over to the city this weekend. I want to see this famous empire of yours. Drinks on me.
May you like
A small smile touched my lips. I had lost a sister, and perhaps temporarily my parents, but for the first time in years, I felt like I had my brother back. But the war was far from over. Lauren was backed into a corner, and a desperate narcissist was the most dangerous creature on earth.
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