Chapter 3 The Price Of Family
1217 Words
"Where is the money, Mom?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
She didn't look up from her tea, swirling the spoon with deliberate slowness. "I don't know what you're talking about, Maya."
"Fifty thousand dollars," I said, leaning over the small kitchen table until she was forced to look at me. "It was in my savings account yesterday. Today it's gone. The bank said you authorized the transfer."
Mom set the spoon down, the tiny clink sounding like a gunshot in the quiet room. She folded her hands in her lap, her face settling into that calm, disappointed mask she always wore whenever I dared to question her. "I used it."
"You used it?" The heat surged under my skin, my pulse hammering in my ears. "That was my entire life savings! That was my down payment for the apartment!"
"It was family money," she said smoothly, not a single trace of guilt in her brown eyes. "Your brother needed help with his legal fees. You wouldn't want Julian to go to prison, would you?"
I stared at her, the betrayal hitting my chest like a physical blow. "Julian got arrested again? And you stole my future to cover for him?"
"I didn't steal anything," she snapped, her eyes narrowing as she finally dropped the sweet act. "I raised you. You owe me everything you have. Besides, Julian is family. You're just being selfish."
"Selfish?" A harsh, disbelieving laugh escaped my throat. "I worked three jobs for four years! I skipped meals, Mom! I didn't buy clothes, I didn't go out, I sacrificed everything so I could finally leave this house!"
"And now you'll stay a little longer," she replied, taking a slow sip of her tea. "Family comes first, Maya. You'll make the money back eventually."
"No," I said, my voice trembling with a mixture of rage and terror. "No, I won't just make it back. You're going to call the bank right now and reverse it."
Mom set her cup down hard, liquid sloshing over the rim. "I can't do that, Maya. The lawyer was already paid an hour ago."
Before I could speak, the front door clicked open. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Julian walked into the kitchen, wearing a brand-new leather jacket and holding a shiny pair of car keys in his hand.
"Hey, sis," Julian grinned, tossing the keys into the air and catching them. "Thanks for the new ride."
The keys landed in his palm with a metallic clink.
I stood up so fast my chair scraped loudly against the floor. "A new ride? Mom said the money went to your lawyer!"
Julian laughed, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a soda. "Well, the lawyer didn't cost fifty grand, Maya. Just ten. Mom said I could keep the rest to get back on my feet."
"The rest?" The air left my lungs in a cold rush. "You spent forty thousand dollars of my money on a car?"
"It's a Mustang," Julian said, popping open his can. "And it's an investment. I need to look professional if I'm going to get a real job."
I turned to Mom, my chest heaving, tears of absolute rage stinging the corners of my eyes. "You told me it was for his legal fees! You let him buy a sports car with my life savings!"
Mom didn't even flinch. She took another slow sip of her tea and set the cup down. "Julian needed a fresh start, Maya. You have a job. You can earn it back. He needs the help more than you do right now."
"I worked ninety hours a week!" I screamed, slamming my hands onto the table. The dishes rattled. "I destroyed my health for four years! I lived on canned soup and walked to work in the snow so I could afford my own life!"
"Stop shouting in my house," Mom said sharply, her eyes flashing with sudden anger. "You are being deeply ungrateful. Everything in this home was paid for by me. It's time you contributed."
"Contributed?" I backed away from the table, looking between the two of them. Julian was smirking, leaning against the counter like he hadn't just stolen my whole future. Mom sat there like a judge who had already decided I was guilty.
They didn't care. They were never going to care.
"Give me the keys," I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous, deadly quiet.
Julian chuckled. "Yeah, right. Not happening, sis."
"Give me the keys to the car, Julian, or I swear to God I will call the police right now and report both of you for grand theft."
Julian's smile instantly vanished. Mom stood up, her chair knocking back against the wall.
"You wouldn't dare," Mom hissed.
"Try me." I pulled my phone from my pocket. Before I could unlock it, Julian lunged forward, snatched it, and shoved me. Then a strange voice spoke from the open doorway: "Freeze."
My phone tumbled out of my hand and clattered across the floor.
Two armed police officers stepped into the kitchen, their guns drawn and pointed directly at Julian. Behind them stood Detective Miller, his badge glinting against his dark jacket.
Julian’s face went completely pale. He raised his hands, backing into the counter and knocking over his soda can. Dark liquid spilled across the tile. "What is this? Mom, what's going on?"
"Julian Vance," Detective Miller said, his voice flat and hard. "Put your hands behind your head and turn around."
"Wait!" Mom rushed forward, placing herself between the cops and her son. "There's been a mistake! He didn't do anything wrong! He was just released!"
"He's not being arrested for the old charges, Mrs. Vance," Detective Miller replied, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt. "He's being arrested for armed robbery and grand larceny. The victim was hit in the head with a pipe outside the downtown vault two hours ago."
I froze. Two hours ago?
"That's impossible!" Mom cried, her voice cracking. "He was with me!"
"Save it for the courtroom," Miller said, shoving Mom aside gently but firmly. He grabbed Julian's wrist and snapped the metal cuff into place.
Julian thrashed against the grip. "I didn't hit anyone! Maya, tell them! Tell them I was here!"
I couldn't move. My eyes drifted from Julian’s terrified face to the shiny car keys lying on the table. The keys to a brand-new Mustang. Forty thousand dollars in cash.
"The car," I whispered, the realization hitting me like a bucket of ice water. My voice shook as I looked at Detective Miller. "He bought a sports car an hour ago. With cash."
"Maya, shut up!" Julian screamed, struggling as the second officer forced his other hand behind his back. "Don't say another word!"
"Where did the cash come from, Maya?" Detective Miller asked, his sharp eyes locking onto mine. "Your mother said he used your money."
Mom stared at me, her eyes wide with desperate silent pleading. "Tell him, Maya," she begged, tears spilling over her cheeks. "Tell him you gave him the money. If you don't, they'll lock him up for twenty years!"
Detective Miller stepped closer to me, his notebook open. "Did you give him forty thousand dollars, Maya? Or did he rob that vault?"
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