Chapter 2
Three long minutes went by before Grace sent a one-minute voice note.
I tapped play, and her shrill, condescending voice burst out, full of fake disappointment. "Renee, how can you talk like that? I'm only trying to teach you how to be kind.
"It's just some fruit. Why are you being so petty? You've got a job in the big city now, so you should be more open-minded.
"I'm helping you build good karma. You really don't know what's good for you. I think city life has spoiled you.
"You only care about money. No wonder you're nearly thirty and still unmarried. Who would want a wife so calculating?"
In the past, I would have stayed quiet to save my mom from embarrassment.
But this time, I refused to hold it in. All these years, she'd forced her so-called kindness on my family and made us feel guilty for no reason.
I let out a cold laugh and sent a small money transfer to Grace through another payment app.
I took a screenshot of the one-cent transaction and posted it directly into the family group with my message. [Aunt Grace, since you're so generous and think so little of money, I wish you a prosperous new year.
[Please accept this little gift. After all, it's the thought that counts, and we should all be more open-minded.]
The group fell into an awkward, heavy silence.
But I knew this was only the beginning.
Grace cared more about her image than anything else, and she would never let anyone ruin her reputation as a kind, selfless person.
She would get back at me, and she wouldn't wait long.
*****
The next day was Saturday, the last weekend before New Year's Eve.
I was sleeping in at my rented apartment in the city when a piercing alarm suddenly jolted me awake.
The noise was coming from my phone that I'd left right next to my pillow.
Still half asleep, I picked up my phone and saw the alarm was from the video doorbell app connected to my new house back home.
I'd saved up for five years to make the down payment on that place. It was in the new district of my hometown and still completely unfurnished, and I planned to move in there after I got married in a couple of years.
I only had two keys to the house, one for myself and the other with my mom.
No one ever went there, so I couldn't figure out what would set off the alarm.
My heart sank, and I lost all my drowsiness at once. I quickly opened the live camera feed.
The second I saw the screen, I was fully alert, and a cold chill ran straight through me.
Grace was standing there with several elderly strangers I didn't recognize and a construction worker holding a toolbox. They were gathered in front of my front door.
They were clearly getting ready to break in.
I immediately called my mom. "Mom, what's going on? Why is Aunt Grace at my new house with a crowd of strangers?"
My mom sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and the background was extremely loud and chaotic. "Renee, your aunt has lost her mind.
"She told everyone in the neighborhood group that you're letting the community use your empty house for free as a senior activity center, and that you'll pay for all the repairs."
"What?" I jumped straight up from the bed.
"She said the house is going to waste since you aren't living there, so you should donate it for the public good.
"Now the Property Manager, community workers, and a group of elderly men who want a place to play chess have all shown up.
"She kept begging your dad and me for the key, and when we refused, she brought everyone over to try and force the door open."
I felt something snap inside me.
This was straight-up theft, plain and simple.
She was trying to use my house to boost her own reputation in the community.
If she managed to pull this off and I backed out later, everyone would call me a liar who took advantage of old folks.
If I went along with it, I'd never get my house back.
Once people like that settled in, they never left. If I wanted to get the house ready for my marriage, they would only cause a big scene at my door and say I had no respect for the elderly.
"Mom, don't panic. Don't give them the keys, no matter what. I'm on my way home right now," I told my mom.
After hanging up, I washed up quickly, grabbed my bag, and hurried downstairs.
The city wasn't far from my hometown. It only took an hour and a half to drive there.
On the way, I opened the homeowners' chat for my neighborhood, which I hadn't checked in a very long time.
The conversation was already wild with activity.
Grace was enjoying all the admiration from others. She wrote: [It's really nothing. I'm so proud of my niece. I've watched her grow up, and she's always had such a big heart.
[She hates seeing the older folks around here stuck indoors with nowhere to go when it's cold, so she wanted to do something nice and offer her place.
[Now everyone can have a nice space to spend time together, play games, or just relax.]
People in the group praised her nonstop.
[Your niece is such a kind person.]
[We're so lucky to have her in our community.]
[You've raised her so well.]
All this flattery made me feel disgusted.
She didn't even tell them my name. She only referred to me as her niece, taking all the praise while leaving me to bear all the trouble and cost.