Paige chimed in, tossing her designer handbag onto the marble countertop. “And mother is right, Gavin. That old truck outside barely runs anymore, and I need something reliable to get to my aesthetic appointments. Since you mentioned four hundred thousand dollars in shares and cash, transferring the titles and accounts into our names first makes complete sense, just like you did with the house and the main savings accounts over the past four years. That way, the corporate lawyers won’t be able to touch a single cent of it during your tax audits.”
I forced a tight, convincing smile onto my face, nodding slowly as if their words were the wisest advice in the world. For years, they had treated me like their personal ATM, and now they believed they were about to hit the ultimate jackpot. “You are completely right, Mother,” I replied, keeping my voice steady and casual. “The corporate transition and the payout verification are scheduled for this afternoon down at the regional bank branch. The legal department wired the preliminary documentation to my mobile phone late last night, and everything is lined up for a direct transfer of the assets.”
Their faces lit up with uncontainable glee. Margaret actually clapped her hands together, a sharp sound that echoed off the high vaulted ceilings of the living room. “I always knew you were the smart one, Gavin! Not like that useless girl you married, sitting around and wasting energy on imaginary illnesses. Speaking of which, once the paperwork is finalized today, we really need to arrange for her to be moved out to that county facility on the edge of town. She’s just a drain on our household, and we can’t have her dragging down your new social standing.”
The coldness in my mother’s voice sent a fresh wave of fury through my veins, but I forced myself to remain entirely composed. The trap was already set, and every word they spoke only cemented their own destruction. Without giving them a chance to say another word, I told them to get dressed and meet me by the gold-colored front gate in twenty minutes. I needed to make a quick phone call to the bank manager to finalize the security codes for the multimillion-dollar corporate portfolio, a lie that tasted like ash in my mouth but worked like absolute magic on their greed-addled minds.
As they scurried off to their bedrooms to pick out their finest outfits for the bank visit, I slipped back into Gwen’s room. I knelt beside her and gently placed a warm, sturdy hand on her arm. She opened her eyes, looking up at me with a mixture of fear and profound exhaustion. I leaned in close and whispered the plan directly into her ear, telling her to pack the small bag of personal documents and keepsakes her mother hadn’t managed to throw away. A quiet spark of life seemed to return to her sunken eyes for the first time in months. She did not ask questions; she simply nodded and began gathering her few remaining belongings…
