Chapter 6

369words2026-01-19 07:09

"Grandma," I said calmly, unlocking my phone, "since you're here, there are some things you should see."

I pulled up the hospital payment records. "Here are the bills I just covered for Mom and Dad. See the diagnoses? 'Acute gastroenteritis' and 'mild hypertension.'"

Grandma Helen slipped on her reading glasses,

squinting at the screen.

"Stop trying to confuse Grandma!" Jason cut in desperately.

I ignored him and pressed play on a recording. "This is from yesterday morning. Listen to how they demanded I hand over $300,000."

Mom's harsh voice filled the room: "Your brother needs a house for his wedding! It's your duty as his older brother! If you don't pay, who will?"

Grandma's expression darkened.

I swiped to my gallery. "These are photos of Jason partying in Australia—taken the day after he claimed he couldn't afford tuition."

The images showed

Jason raising a champagne flute,

a sprawling beachfront mansion in the background.

"One last thing," I said, meeting Grandma's eyes. "Remember when I took my college entrance exams? I qualified for Harvard."

Grandma's head snapped up. "But you didn't get in..."

"My application was altered," I said with a grim smile. "They needed to save money for Jason's Australian education."

Grandma's hands began to tremble.

She turned to my parents. "Margaret, Robert, is what Michael's saying true?"

Mom stammered, "Mom, he's just making things up—"

"ENOUGH!" Grandma's voice cracked like thunder. "I'm not senile yet!"

She jabbed a finger at Jason. "You've been living it up overseas on your brother's dime."

Then she turned on my parents. "You've been bullying Michael for years, and now you're faking illnesses to manipulate me?"

Right on cue,

a nurse bustled in. "How are we feeling today? You're all set for discharge tomorrow morning."

Grandma let out a disgusted snort. "Keep up the act, why don't you?"

She grabbed my hand. "Come on, Michael. I don't need a daughter and son-in-law who behave like this!"

As we left,

I glanced back once—Mom and Dad sat frozen, Jason's mouth hanging open.

Their carefully orchestrated scheme

had collapsed spectacularly.

But deep down, I knew this was just the beginning.

The real storm

hit three days later,

with a ferocity I never could have imagined.