Chapter 3 - The Unholy Alliance
My mother grabbed Ray's arm as he stumbled backward on the porch steps.
"You have absolutely no grounds to take Danny and Cara away," Mom yelled at Brenda.
Brenda smiled, adjusting her expensive sunglasses on top of her head.
"A judge will disagree when they see the foreclosure notices Richard is filing," she replied smoothly.
"You cannot provide a stable environment for them anymore."
I looked back and forth between Richard and Brenda, putting the sick puzzle together.
Richard was using his immense wealth to destroy the only father figure I had ever known.
He wanted to strip Ray of his biological children just to prove a point about power.
"You are a monster," I told Richard, my hands shaking with pure anger.
Richard sighed dramatically, acting like a disappointed parent.
"I am simply a man who expects a return on his investments," he stated.
"You have until Friday to pack your bags and come live with me in the city, Leo."
"If you do, the house stays in your mother's name, and Ray keeps his kids."
He tossed a shiny silver business card onto the porch before turning around.
"Think carefully about who you actually want to protect," Richard warned.
He opened the passenger door of Brenda's luxury SUV and climbed inside.
Brenda gave Ray one last victorious smirk before driving away down our quiet street.
Ray immediately sat heavily on the porch swing, burying his face in his rough hands.
Mom sat beside him, whispering quiet reassurances that everything would somehow be okay.
I walked slowly over to the brand-new car sitting in our driveway.
It felt like a giant, shiny Trojan horse designed to destroy our entire family.
I opened the driver's side door and leaned inside, looking for the registration papers.
I popped the glovebox open and found a thick manila envelope sealed with red wax.
I broke the seal and pulled out a massive stack of complex legal contracts.
The papers were not vehicle registration forms at all.
They were corporate incorporation documents for a holding company registered entirely in my name.
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I flipped to the last page and felt my stomach drop straight to the pavement.
According to these documents, I was the sole owner of the shell company that was foreclosing on my own mother's house.
