Chapter 9 - The Ultimate Collapse
"You haven't been my mother for twelve years," Paige replied quietly, completely devoid of human empathy.
"You set us up!" Mallory sobbed hysterically, her olive green sweater suddenly looking cheap and pathetic. She grabbed Grant's arm, but he violently shoved her away, utterly disgusted and terrified of being implicated in a federal felony.
"Don't touch me!" Grant roared at his wife. "I am not going to federal prison because you two are thieves! I am filing for divorce!"
The family was completely, irreversibly imploding right on the sidewalk. They were turning on each other like feral rats on a sinking ship.
Suddenly, the driver of the rented white moving van honked his incredibly loud, heavy horn.
He rolled down his window, looking extremely annoyed by the screaming drama.
"Hey, lady!" the driver yelled at Diane. "You only paid for two hours! The meter is running! Are we unloading this junk or what? Because if you can't pay the overtime fee right now, I'm taking this truck straight back to the lot and dumping your stuff on the curb!"
Diane gasped, her face flushing crimson with absolute, paralyzing humiliation. She didn't have a single dollar left to her name. Her house was gone. Her favorite daughter was facing a federal indictment. Her son-in-law was leaving them.
"Paige, have mercy!" Diane wailed, falling to her knees on the dirty sidewalk, reaching her hand through the iron bars in pure desperation. "We have nowhere to sleep tonight! Please!"
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Paige looked down at the weeping, shattered woman on the concrete.
👉 What beautiful, cinematic moment will give Paige her final closure?
