Chapter 4 - A House Cleaned
Vanessa stared at the folder, then at Daniel, realizing that every lie she had spun over the past eight months had been completely dismantled.
"You're all insane," she spat, her tone dripping with venom.
"I was too good for this boring, pathetic family anyway!"
"Then you shouldn't mind leaving immediately," Daniel said quietly.
He opened the massive mahogany front doors, revealing the cool afternoon air.
"If you are not off this property in five minutes, I will have security remove you for trespassing and physical assault."
Vanessa snatched her bag, turned on her high heels, and stormed out into the driveway, slamming her car door so hard the sound echoed across the lawn.
The silence that settled over the foyer was heavy, but clean.
Daniel turned to me, his shoulders slumping as the weight of the heartbreak and embarrassment hit him all at once.
He sank onto the bottom step of the staircase—the same step where he had stood moments before—and buried his face in his hands.
"I'm so sorry, Mom," he choked out.
"I was so blind."
"I let her insult our people, and I let her hurt you..."
I walked over, sat beside him on the cold stone step, and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, ignoring the dampness still clinging to my hair.
"You were trusting, Daniel," I whispered, pulling his head onto my shoulder just as I had when he was a boy.
"That is not a crime."
"Your heart is good, like your father's was."
"But a good heart must always be guarded by sharp eyes."
He pulled back, wiping a tear from his cheek, and looked at me with a sad, grateful smile.
"Where did you even get that wig, Mom?"
I let out a soft laugh, squeezing his hand.
"A mother does what she has to do to protect her home, Daniel."
"Now, come help me clean up..."
May you like
"I think we have a real housekeeper to hire, and a proper dinner to cook for Rosa and Luis."
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