Chapter 5

In the end, Michael transferred the ten thousand dollars to David.

I knew that for a young man just a few years into his career, it was a fortune. He must have drained his entire savings, and I was certain he had had a very difficult conversation with Sophie to do it.

The moment the money hit his account, David sent it to his mother.

After that, the way he looked at me turned venomous. The chill in our home dropped below freezing. We were two strangers living under the same roof, occupying separate islands.

He stopped demanding I cook, subsisting on a diet of takeout. The greasy containers piled up by the sink, starting to smell, but he wouldn't throw them away.

You could no longer tell the original color of the living room floor, and his dirty clothes were strewn across the sofa.

The entire house, apart from my two clean rooms, had become a garbage dump.

I acted as if I didn't see a thing.

One afternoon, I was in my study sorting old papers when David barged in without knocking.

"Emily, give me the deed to the house," he demanded sharply.

I looked up from my desk. "Which house?"

"What do you mean? This one, obviously!" he snapped. "I need it for something."

The house we lived in was purchased after our wedding, and both our names were on the deed.

"What for?" I asked evenly.

"Why do you ask so many questions? Just get it for me!" he said, radiating impatience.

I closed the file I was holding, leaned back in my chair, and looked at him. "David, as per our agreement, this house is marital property. Any major decision regarding marital property requires the consent of both parties.

"You expect me to hand over the deed without even telling me why? Do you really think that's going to happen?"

His face flushed. "I... I need to use it as collateral. To take out a loan."

"A loan?" I yelled as my heart sank. "How much? And what for?"

"That's none of your business!" he roared, his brief attempt at civility evaporating. "Just give me the damn deed!"

"This is about Eric again, isn't it?" I said, cutting straight to the heart of it. "The ten thousand dollars wasn't enough. He's in deeper trouble."

His eyes darted away for a second. "No! It's for me! I need it!"

I let out a cold laugh. "For you? For what? Your pension is twelve hundred a week. After paying your share of the bills, you have thousands of dollars of disposable income. What could you possibly need a massive loan for?

"David, do you take me for a fool?"

With his lie exposed, he flew into a rage. "So what if it is! Eric's my brother! He's in trouble. Am I supposed to just let him drown? We're blood!"

"So your solution is to mortgage our home, the home we worked our entire lives for, to pay off his debts?" I stood up and walked toward him, staring directly into his eyes.

"Have you lost your mind, David? This is our home! This is our son's home! You have no right to risk it for your deadbeat brother's gambling problem!"

"He is not a deadbeat! He is your family!"

"I have no such family!" I shot back, not giving an inch. "The day you started this fifty-fifty nonsense, your family became your problem. I have zero obligation to pay for their failures! You will not get the deed. Don't even think about it!"

"Emily!" His fury was palpable. He slammed his fist on my desk. "I paid for the majority of this house! If I say we're mortgaging it, we're mortgaging it! I don't need your permission!"

"Is that so?" I argued, shooting him an icy glare. "Both our names are on that deed. No bank will give you a loan without my signature. You try anything, and I will see you in court."

"Court? You're threatening me?" he yelled, shaking with rage. "Fine. Fine! You're a cold, heartless woman, Emily. You'll regret this."

He spat the words and stormed out, slamming the door.

I knew where he was going. Straight back to his mother and his son, he was to rally the troops.

Less than thirty minutes later, Michael called, just as I knew he would.

"Mom, please, just stop fighting with Dad. He's unhealthy. What if all this stress makes him sick?" Michael pleaded with exhaustion.

"He's the one who wants to mortgage our home. I'm not the one starting the fights."

"I know, but Grandma called again. She's hysterical. She said Uncle Eric was set up, and he got mixed up with loan sharks. The interest has ballooned. Mom, they say he owes seventy thousand dollars now.

"If he doesn't pay, they're going to kill him." Michael's voice cracked. "Seventy thousand dollars! Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"

"So your father's solution is to mortgage the house," I stated flatly.

"Yes. He said he'd borrow the money and pay it back slowly with his pension."

I almost laughed at the sheer naivety.

"Pay it back slowly? With what? After his living expenses, his hobbies, and his handouts to his family, what's left? Nothing! It will come out of our joint savings. Michael, don't be a fool. This is a bottomless pit!"

"But he's my uncle! We can't just let them kill him!"

"Save him? How? It's seventy thousand dollars this time. What about next time? A hundred? Your uncle is a starving wolf. He will never be satisfied!

"We could sell this house, and it still wouldn't be enough to cover his messes!" My voice was hard now. "Michael, listen to me. I will not compromise on this. The house is my final line in the sand. No one touches it."

"Mom!" he cried out in frustration.

"Don't 'Mom' me! If you feel so sorry for your father, your grandmother, and your uncle, then you go find a way to help them! Max out your credit cards, borrow from your friends, or take out your own loan!

"That's your choice! But you will not touch a single brick of this house or a single penny of my assets!"

I slammed the phone down, my chest heaving with anger.

For the sake of his family, David was willing to burn everything to the ground. Our marriage and his relationship with his own son mattered no more than his deadbeat brother.

I sat in my study, staring out the window as the sky darkened, feeling my heart turn to stone.

This so-called home had been a cage for a very long time.

And now, it was time to break the bars.