Chapter 5 - Cracks in the Monopoly
I walked down the driveway, keeping my distance, stopping at the edge of my lawn. “What do you want, David?”
David stepped out of the car. He looked stressed, his hair unkempt, a far cry from his usual polished appearance. “Mark, we need to talk. Mom is a mess. Dad is talking about cutting you out of the family business entirely. Is this really worth it?”
“Did Dad tell you what actually happened?” I asked, holding my ground. “Or did he just feed you Mom’s story?”
“Mom said Emily went crazy!” David shouted, pacing along the curb. “She said Emily snapped, threw things, and Mom was just trying to protect the baby!”
I pulled out my phone, opened the security app playback from the indoor camera—the one I had installed in the hallway, which had captured the audio and partial video of the incident—and pressed play.
The sharp sound of Emily’s terrified screams echoed across the quiet street. Then my mother’s harsh, furious voice: “You don't own him! He’s a blood relative, you little nobody!” followed by the distinct sound of a body being slammed against furniture and Noah’s frantic cries.
David froze. The color drained completely from his face.
“She lied to you,” I said quietly. “She didn't just lie; she attacked my wife eleven days after a major surgery. She put her hands on her while she was holding my newborn son. And now she’s suing us to force us to hand Noah over to her.”
David swallowed hard, staring at the phone screen. “I... Dad told me Emily hit her first.”
“Look at the footage, David. Mom came into our house uninvited using a spare key she stole months ago. She ambushed Emily.”
David covered his mouth with his hand, taking a step back. “Mark... she’s been telling the whole family that Emily belongs in an asylum. Uncles, aunts, everyone is pooling money to help Mom hire her lawyer.”
“Then they are funding an abuser,” I said coldly. “If you have any decency left, you’ll walk away from this. Because if you stand with her in court, I will present this audio, along with every abusive text she’s ever sent, and I will destroy her reputation completely.”
David looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and horror. “She’s been doing this to all of us, hasn't she? Controlling everything. Making us think everyone outside the family is the enemy.”
“It took me thirty years and my son being put in danger to see it,” I said. “You have to make a choice now, David. Do you protect the lie, or do you stand for what’s right?”
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David didn't answer. He got back into his car and drove away without another word.
That night, for the first time in weeks, Emily slept for four continuous hours. But the real storm was coming: the preliminary hearing was scheduled for the following Monday.
