Chapter 7 - The Cost of Lies
I walked downstairs, checked the deadbolts, and opened the heavy oak door, leaving the security storm door latched between us.
"Jocelyn," Chloe choked out, her voice raw. Her little boy was clutching a stuffed bear, shivering slightly in the morning chill. "Please. I didn't want to come last night. Nancy made Greg drive us. She told me if I didn't back up her story on social media, she would cut me off completely."
I looked at my younger sister. The exhaustion in her face was real. For years, she had been Nancy’s puppet—conditioned to believe that without our mother’s approval, she was nothing.
"Where is she, Chloe?" I asked, keeping my voice level.
"She’s at Aunt Carol’s house," Chloe sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "They’re writing another post. They’re planning to call Child Protective Services on you, Jocelyn. Nancy told Aunt Carol that you’re suffering from postpartum psychosis and that the baby isn't safe with you."
The air in my chest froze.
A mother’s worst nightmare isn't poverty, and it isn't public gossip. It is someone threatening to tear her newborn child from her arms. Nancy had crossed from toxic narcissism into criminal warfare.
"Come inside," I whispered, unlocking the security screen.
Chloe stepped into the warm foyer, collapsing onto the entryway bench. Her son wandered toward the living room rug, captivated by the soft toys I had placed there earlier.
"Chloe," I said, crouching before her so our eyes were level. "Listen to me very carefully. If you want my help, you have to tell the truth. Why were you evicted?"
Chloe flinched, pulling her collar tighter. "I... I couldn't pay the three months back rent."
"Why couldn't you pay it? You worked part-time at the clinic, and Victor gave you five thousand dollars to cover the deposit."
Fresh tears rolled down Chloe’s cheeks. "Nancy took the card. She said she was holding the money in a high-yield account to invest for the kids. When the landlord gave me the final eviction notice last Friday, Nancy told me that you were holding back dad’s secret million-dollar trust fund. She promised me that if we forced you to take us in, she would make you sign the house over to the three of us."
I closed my eyes, letting the sheer monstrosity of my mother's deceit sink in. Nancy hadn't just abandoned Chloe; she had orchestrated her eviction, weaponized her homelessness, and used three innocent children as battering rams against my door.
"Did you sign an affidavit for her CPS report?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet.
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"No!" Chloe gasped, looking terrified. "I swear to God, Jocelyn, I refused! That's why I took Greg’s spare keys and walked here from the diner two miles down the road. She’s insane. She’s completely lost her mind."
"Good," I said, rising to my feet. "Because Rebecca is on her way over. And today, Chloe, you are going to help me destroy the monster that has ruled this family for thirty years."
