“Do not dare lecture me about morality or justice!” Beatrice snapped angrily. “You lived a life of complete luxury off that stolen money!”
“I acknowledge that fully,” I said without looking away. “But your actions are no longer about justice; they are about greed.”
She pulled her cell phone out of her sweater pocket and pointed it at me menacingly. “I am going to dial your son’s number right now and expose everything!”
“You cannot threaten me with that anymore,” I said softly.
“Watch me do it!” she shouted, pressing the screen.
Then I uttered the simple words that stopped her completely in her tracks. “They already know everything.”
Beatrice’s thumb froze instantly over the glass screen, her eyes widening in absolute shock.
“I sat down with all three of my adult children last night and told them the entire truth myself,” I explained calmly. “I told them what Charles did to Christopher, how he betrayed his partner, and how he lied to everyone. There is literally nothing left for you to reveal to them.”
The cell phone slowly lowered in her hand as her expression turned pale.
“You no longer possess any leverage over my family,” I said, taking a step back toward the porch steps. “The secret is gone forever. There will be no rent payment next month, nor the month after that, and when I die, you will not collect a single penny from my children either.”
