Chapter 2 - The White Envelope

As the thirty-day eviction deadline approached, desperation drove Daniel to make his final, fatal mistake.

With his accounts frozen and his business loans called in by the bank, the hush money to Caroline abruptly stopped. Caroline, furious that her free ride had ended, did what blackmailers always do. She showed up.

I found out because my attorney received a frantic call from Daniel’s newly retained, budget-rate lawyer.

Caroline had flown from California to Colorado and shown up at my house—which Daniel and Ava were still packing up to leave. According to the police report Diane pulled, Caroline had arrived drunk, demanding money. When Daniel told her he was broke because I had frozen everything, Caroline turned her rage onto Ava.

For years, Daniel had poisoned Ava against me by telling her that Caroline loved her and wanted her, but was just "going through a hard time." He used me as the strict, mean stepmother so Caroline could be the tragic victim.

But standing in the driveway, screaming at the top of her lungs, Caroline shattered the illusion. She told Ava that she didn't care about her, that she only used her as leverage to get cash out of Daniel, and that Ava was a burden.

The police were called for a domestic disturbance. Caroline was arrested for public intoxication and trespassing.

Ava, the girl who had treated me like garbage to defend the honor of a mother who never wanted her, was completely broken.

Later that evening, I received a text from an unknown number.

Maya. It’s Ava. Can I please talk to you?

I stared at the glowing screen of my phone. A part of me—the soft, maternal part that had bought her birthday presents and sat through freezing volleyball games—wanted to call her. Wanted to comfort the teenage girl whose world had just collapsed.

But I remembered the cold, triumphant look in her eyes at the barbecue. I remembered the three years of emotional abuse she had subjected me to with zero remorse. She didn't want a mother. She just wanted a savior now that her primary host was out of money.