Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2 — The Golden Boy's Secret
The nursing facility where my grandmother lived part-time was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.
My parents claimed they needed a few weeks to prepare a room for her at their house.
That was six months ago.
I visited her every Tuesday and Thursday.
My parents visited on holidays. If they remembered.
When I walked into her room, she was sitting by the window, watching the birds.
"Audrey, my sweet girl," she smiled, her eyes crinkling.
She reached out, and her hands felt like fragile, dry paper.
"Hi, Grandma," I said, kissing her cheek.
"Did your father send you?" she asked, a confused look crossing her face.
"He said there were some papers to sign. For the house."
My heart clenched.
"When was he here, Grandma?"
"Oh, a few weeks ago," she said, looking down at her hands.
"Marcus was with him. They said the house needed repairs. They needed my signature to fix the roof."
They lied to her.
They looked this sweet, vulnerable woman in the eye and stole the home she had lived in for fifty years.
"Don't worry about the house, Grandma," I said softly, squeezing her hand.
"I'm taking care of it."
"You always were the responsible one," she whispered.
I stayed with her for an hour, brushing her hair, talking about my garden.
I didn't mention the lottery.
I didn't mention the betrayal.
I just let her feel loved.
When I stepped out of the facility, my phone rang.
It was Harrison, my lawyer.
"Ms. Audrey," his crisp voice came through the speaker. "The funds have cleared the state lottery commission."
"The Two Dollar Trust is now fully capitalized."
I took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air.
"And the loan?" I asked.
"Crestview Bank was more than happy to offload a high-risk liability," Harrison chuckled.
"We purchased the debt at a slight premium to expedite the transfer."
"The paperwork was finalized ten minutes ago."
I closed my eyes.
"So, I own it."
"You are now the sole owner of Marcus's debt, and you hold the deed of trust to the collateral property."
"What are your instructions?"
I looked at my reflection in the glass doors of the nursing home.
The quiet, invisible girl who passed the potatoes at Thanksgiving was gone.
"Draft a notice of default," I said coldly.
"Send it to Marcus's office. Not his home. His office."
"I want it hand-delivered to him while he's sitting at his desk pretending to be important."
"And Harrison?"
"Yes, Ms. Audrey?"
"Make sure the holding company name is listed."
"I want him to know exactly who is pulling the string."
I drove back to my apartment.
There was a silver Mercedes parked in my assigned spot.
My mother's car.
I parked on the street and walked up the stairs.
My parents and Vivien were standing in the hallway outside my door.
They looked frantic. Disheveled.
The perfect facade of the Thanksgiving dinner had completely melted off.
"Audrey!" my mother shrieked as I walked up the stairs.
She practically threw herself at me, arms open wide for a hug I sidestepped.
"Where have you been? We've been terrified!" she cried, grabbing my arm.
"I was at work," I lied smoothly. "Landscaping doesn't stop for the holidays."
Vivien pushed forward. Her designer dress was wrinkled.
"Audrey, stop playing dumb! We saw the news!"
"The winning ticket from the convenience store down our street!"
My father stepped up, trying to look authoritative.
"Audrey, did you win?" he demanded. "Did you win the lottery with the ticket we gave you?"
I unlocked my door and walked inside.
They followed me like starving dogs trailing a butcher.
I put my keys on the counter and turned to face them.
"Yes," I said casually.
"I won."
The air left the room.
Vivien gasped, covering her mouth.
My mother burst into actual tears of joy.
My father’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"A hundred million dollars," my father breathed, calculating the sum in his head.
"Oh, sweetheart!" my mother cried, stepping forward again. "This is a miracle! A blessing for the whole family!"
"The whole family," I repeated, tasting the words.
"Yes!" Vivien chimed in, her voice shrill with excitement.
"We can all go on the cruise now! First class! We can upgrade the suite!"
"We can buy a yacht!"
I leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing my arms.
"That's funny," I said, my voice dropping an octave.
"I seem to remember the cruise was an exclusive celebration."
"For Marcus's success."
"And I didn't fit the dynamic."
The three of them froze.
The smiles faltered.
"Audrey, you know we didn't mean it like that," my mother backpedaled, her voice dripping with fake honey.
"We just didn't want you to feel left out because of your... financial situation."
"But now everything is different!"
"Yes," I agreed softly. "Everything is different."
"So, here is how this is going to work."
I pointed to the door.
"You are going to leave my apartment."
"You are not going to call me again."
"And if you ever show up uninvited to my home again, I will have you arrested for trespassing."
My father's face turned purple.
"Excuse me? We are your parents! We gave you that ticket!"
"You gave me a two-dollar joke to humiliate me," I corrected, my voice turning to ice.
May you like
"The joke is over."
"Get out."
