Chapter 4 - The UltimatumWalter slammed his fist onto the dining table, rattling the silver cutlery. The old man’s face was dark with fury—not at me, but at his son.
"Daniel," Walter growled, his voice trembling with a lifetime of repressed disappointment. "Is everything Tom and Rachel just said... the house, the debts, the fraud... is it all true?"
Daniel swallowed hard, his eyes darting frantically around the room. Every single relative—his aunts, his uncles, his mother—was staring at him with a mixture of disgust and betrayal. No one came to his defense. Not even Elaine, who sat staring blankly at the ruined roast beef.
"I... I was trying to build something," Daniel muttered defensively, staring at the floor. "I was taking risks! That’s what businessmen do!"
"Businessmen don't lie to their families, gamble away their parents' retirement home, and abuse the person cleaning up their messes," Walter snapped, standing up with surprising strength. He pointed a shaking finger toward the front door. "Get out."
Daniel’s head jerked up. "Dad? You’re telling me to leave? It’s your retirement party!"
"It was my retirement party, hosted in a house that apparently belongs to my daughter-in-law because you drove us into financial ruin," Walter said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. "Get out of my sight before I forget I raised you."
Brooke gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "Grandpa! You can't kick Dad out! What about us?"
"You can stay, Brooke," I said gently, looking at the sixteen-year-old. "Or you can leave with him. That’s your choice. But starting tomorrow, the rules of this household—and every financial support system tied to it—change permanently."
Thomas Whitaker stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on Walter’s shoulder. "Walter, Elaine, you don't need to worry about the mortgage or the bank. Rachel and I already handled the legal transfer this morning. The deed is fully in your name, free and clear of Daniel's interference. That was my wedding anniversary gift to my own wife last year, but Rachel asked me to redirect it to ensure you had a safe roof over your heads."
Elaine covered her mouth with both hands, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. "Rachel... all this time... you protected us, and we treated you like... like an outsider."
"You did," I agreed honestly. I didn't sugarcoat it. Kindness without boundaries is just enabling, and I was done enabling the Mercer family's toxic dynamics.
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Daniel, realizing he had completely lost control of the room, sneered through his humiliation. "Fine! You think you're so smart, Rachel? You think you can humiliate me in front of my family and get away with it? You're nothing without me! You’ll be begging me to come back by midnight!"
He turned on his heel, grabbed his coat off the rack by the door, and slammed it behind him so hard that a picture frame fell off the wall in the hallway.
