Chapter 2 - The Strings Attached
The heavy silence that fell over our front yard was completely suffocating.
Ray instinctively stepped in front of my mother, shielding her from Richard's smug gaze.
"You cannot just buy a mortgage and instantly evict a family," Ray said firmly.
Richard pulled a folded legal document from his inside breast pocket.
He tossed it casually onto the hood of the new car.
"I run a private equity firm that specializes in distressed assets, Ray," Richard sneered.
"Your wife missed two payments last year when she got sick."
"The bank was thrilled to sell off your underwater loan to my corporate entity."
I stared at the man who was supposed to be my father, feeling nothing but pure disgust.
"You did not come here for my birthday," I realized aloud.
"You came here to trap us."
Richard looked at me with fake, exaggerated hurt in his eyes.
"I came to give you the life you actually deserve, Leo," he insisted.
"Look at this place."
He gestured wildly at our peeling paint and the cracked concrete driveway.
"This man is raising you in absolute poverty."
Ray's jaw tightened, but he did not raise his voice.
"We have a home filled with love, which is something your money cannot buy," Ray said calmly.
Richard laughed loudly, a cruel and hollow sound.
"Love does not keep the heating on during an Ohio winter," Richard mocked.
Just then, an unfamiliar luxury SUV pulled up to the curb behind the new car.
The driver's door opened, and a woman with perfectly styled blonde hair stepped out onto the street.
I recognized her instantly from the old photographs in Danny and Cara's bedrooms.
It was Brenda, Ray's ex-wife.
Ray's entire body went rigid the moment he saw her walking up our driveway.
"Brenda, what are you doing here?" Ray demanded, his voice finally showing panic.
Brenda ignored him completely and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Richard.
"Richard called me yesterday to discuss your living situation," Brenda announced coldly.
May you like
She looked at our modest house with a look of extreme distaste.
"Since you are about to be entirely homeless, I am filing for emergency full custody of my children tomorrow morning."
