Chapter 5 - Kendra’s Desperation
The next day, Kendra cornered me at the grocery store near my office. She looked haggard, her perfect ponytail messy, her designer purse clutched like a shield.
"Mallerie, please!" she begged, ignoring the stares of other shoppers. "If you liquidate the business, I’ll lose everything! I can't pay back $40,000! We’re sisters!"
"We were sisters," I corrected her, keeping my voice conversational. "Until you stood by and watched a five-year-old child cry in terror so your daughter could feel superior. You used the police as weaponized babysitters. You tried to break my daughter’s spirit."
"It was Mom's idea!" Kendra cried, tears spilling over. "She said Charlotte was getting too rowdy and needed to be put in her place! I just went along with it!"
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"Then you can go along with her to bankruptcy court," I said. "You have three weeks to find the money, Kendra. I suggest you start selling your jewelry."
I walked past her, leaving her crying in the organic produce aisle. I felt no guilt. I only felt a profound, liberating lightness.
