Chapter 8 - The Ultimate Betrayal
The entire restaurant was staring at us now, but I didn't care. Ten years of suppressed anger, exhaustion, and betrayal finally erupted out of my chest.
“I saved lives for a living!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face. “I worked seventy-hour weeks! I rode the bus in the freezing snow at 3:00 AM while Jason was playing businessman with MY money?!”
“Don't raise your voice at your mother!” Jason snapped, pointing a finger at me. “It’s family money, Emily! Stop acting like a victim. You’re just a nurse, you don't understand how business works.”
“Your businesses went bankrupt, Jason!” Aunt Clara roared. “You are a failure!”
My mother reached across the table, desperately trying to grab my hand. “Emily, please. We didn't want to hurt you. We just knew you were strong enough to survive on your own. Jason... Jason is fragile. He needs our help.”
“You didn't help him,” I said, pulling my hand away as if she had burned me. My voice was suddenly terrifyingly calm. “You enabled a parasite. And you committed felony fraud to do it.”
Jason scoffed, standing up from the table. “This is ridiculous. I’m not sitting here listening to this. I’m taking the car and going home. Mom, Dad, let’s go.”
He reached for the silver keys sitting on the table.
Before his fingers could even touch the metal, I snatched them up.
“No, you’re not,” I said softly.
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Through the large glass windows of the restaurant, the sudden, blinding flash of red and blue sirens illuminated the dark street.
👉 What happens when the police walk through the restaurant doors?
