Chapter 4 - The War of the Families
News travels fast in a tight-knit suburb, but digital news travels faster. By noon, the local news channel aired the segment: “Local Man Arrested for Selling Deceased Mother-in-Law’s Assistance Dog.” Attached to the article was the screenshot Gordon had posted online, along with the heart-wrenching photo of eleven-year-old Sophie crying over Sadie's returned collar.
The backlash was instant and brutal.
Gordon’s brother, Richard—Madison’s father—was the first to call Colin in a rage.
"How could you do this to Mom and Dad?!" Richard screamed through the phone speaker. "Dad is sitting in a holding cell! Mom is having a nervous breakdown! All over a damn mutt! You’re destroying this family!"
Colin didn't flinch. For thirty years, he had been the dutiful, quiet younger brother who took the brunt of Richard’s arrogance and his parents’ emotional abuse.
"Dad stole from my wife and my daughter, Richard," Colin said, his voice as cold as ice. "He sold a dog that comforted my daughter through the death of her grandmother. He took twenty-five hundred dollars and lied to a family from his own church. If you think protecting a criminal is more important than protecting your niece, then you are just as twisted as they are."
"You better drop the charges," Richard threatened. "Or I will make sure you never see a dime of the family inheritance. Dad will disown you!"
"Keep the money," Colin replied smoothly. "It’s clearly the only thing any of you care about." He hung up and blocked his brother's number.
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Meanwhile, Brenda was frantically trying to salvage her social standing. She called her pastor, claiming that Elena was "mentally unstable" and had orchestrated a grand frame-job to ruin Gordon’s reputation. But Martha, the woman who had bought Sadie, was a highly respected elder in the very same church. Martha had already provided the police with the text messages, the cash transaction receipt, and a signed statement explaining how Gordon had pressured her into paying cash immediately.
The church board held an emergency meeting that evening. Gordon was stripped of his treasurer position, and both Gordon and Brenda were asked to take an indefinite leave of absence from the congregation. The quiet, respectable life they had manufactured on the backs of everyone else was crumbling, brick by brick.
