Chapter 14 - The Final Collapse of Illusion
Three weeks after the lawsuit was filed, the house of cards my parents had spent decades building finally turned to dust.
Marcus had delivered our countersuit and anti-SLAPP motion directly to my parents’ counsel. Faced with the reality of being forced to pay my legal fees, combined with the prospect of public testimony regarding my father’s fraudulent business practices and the body-cam footage of his arrest, their high-priced city attorney did the only logical thing he could do: he dropped them as clients.
Left without representation and financially drained from months of legal posturing, my parents tried to call me directly.
My phone lit up with my mother’s number on a Tuesday afternoon.
I watched the screen ring out, listening to the silent vibration against the wooden desk. I didn't answer. I didn't need to hear the excuses, the begging, or the weaponized guilt.
A minute later, a text message came through from an unknown local number—evidently, my father had used a burner phone:
“Maya, please. We are your family. Your mother hasn’t slept in days. The house is falling apart. Can’t we sit down and talk like civilized people?”
I stared at the screen, typed a single sentence, and hit send:
“You made it very clear what my health and my life had to do with you. Lose my number.”
May you like
I blocked the number instantly, tapped my phone screen face-down, and turned back to my architectural designs.
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