Chapter 2 - The Audit of Lies
The darkness in the living room felt suffocating, broken only by the dim glow of the kitchen overhead lights spilling across the hardwood floor. Marcus took a ragged breath, trying to regain the upper hand by puffing out his chest.
"You can't just cut us off, Maya," Marcus said, his voice dropping into a manipulative, whining register. "We have commitments. We have a social standing to maintain. What are our friends going to think when the cars disappear?"
"Tell them the truth," Maya said smoothly, shifting the heavy toddler to her other hip. "Tell them you were living off your sister like pathetic parasites."
Chloe stepped forward, her face twisting into an ugly sneer. "You cold-hearted bitch. You dangle this life in front of us, you invite us into your glamorous world, and now you want to pull the rug out just because you had a bad day at the boardroom?"
"I didn't invite you, Chloe," Maya countered, her gaze pinning the other woman to the spot. "You showed up on my doorstep three years ago claiming you were down on your luck, promising you'd find a job within a month. Instead, you turned my guest suite into a permanent boutique for designer knockoffs and started hosting brunch on my dime."
Evelyn quietly stepped out of the kitchen, head bowed, carrying a damp towel to clean up the spilled noodles on the white rug. Maya shot the older woman a softening look before hardening her expression again.
"Evelyn, take the baby upstairs to the nursery and get him ready for bed," Maya instructed gently.
Evelyn nodded quickly, taking the toddler from Maya's arms with practiced ease and slipping up the grand staircase, leaving the three adults alone in the tense, half-lit room.
Marcus ran his hands down his beige t-shirt, his eyes darting toward the front door as if calculating his chances of making a clean getaway. "Look, Maya, let's be reasonable here. We can talk about a payment plan. A budget. We can figure this out."
"There is nothing to figure out," Maya said, walking over to the smart panel and tapping the screen twice. A soft chime echoed through the room. "In fact, I've already spoken to the property management office. The secondary key cards for this house have been permanently deactivated as of six minutes ago."
Chloe let out a sharp gasp, stumbling backward until the back of her knees hit the sofa. "Deactivated? You can't lock us out of our own rooms!"
"They aren't your rooms," Maya said, tapping the screen again to turn the living room lights back on, revealing the pale, sweating faces of her brother and his fiancée. "And as of right now, you have exactly forty-eight hours to pack your bags and find a hotel. Or a shelter. Frankly, I don't care which."
May you like
Marcus stared at her, his jaw slack, the realization finally dawning that his meal ticket had officially expired. But as Maya turned away to walk toward the stairs, Chloe’s phone buzzed aggressively on the coffee table, flashing an incoming message with a name that made Marcus visibly pale.
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