Then, the illusion of familial decorum completely shattered.
Helen burst out laughing. It wasn’t a polite chuckle; it was a harsh, barking, vicious sound of pure, unadulterated triumph.
“One dollar!” Helen cackled, pointing a perfectly manicured, diamond-clad finger directly at my face. “Oh my god, Maya! You cared for him all that time! You threw away your youth scrubbing his bedpans and managing his diapers, and you got absolutely nothing! He must’ve known you were just faking your devotion for the cash. Even drowning in dementia, the old man saw right through your pathetic manipulation!”
Richard snorted in amusement, shaking his head. “Well, that settles that.”
I sat entirely frozen in my chair. Mr. Sterling slowly reached across the mahogany table and slid a crisp, pristine, single one-dollar bill toward me. It stopped inches from my hand.
The physical bill felt like a violent, open-handed slap across my face. My grandfather, the man I loved more than anyone, had publicly humiliated me in front of the people who hated me the most.
But as I stared at the mocking faces of my mother, my father, and my sister, I had absolutely no idea that the true nightmare of the Lawson family was only just beginning.
Chapter 2: The Eviction of the Caregiver
Chloe leaned heavily across the mahogany table, her eyes glittering with profound, sadistic malice. She snatched a copy of the trust document from Mr. Sterling’s assistant, clutching it to her chest like a shield.
“No one’s on your side, Maya,” Chloe sneered, her beautiful face twisting into an ugly, triumphant mask. “You’re pathetic. You always have been. You wasted your entire twenties playing nursemaid, pretending you were better than us because you ‘cared,’ and now you’re completely broke. I’m going to buy a villa in Tuscany next month. Maybe, if you’re desperate enough, I’ll hire you to clean it.”
I couldn’t speak. My throat was completely constricted, blocked by a massive, jagged lump of grief and shock.
