Chapter 19 - A Sister's Desperation
"My sister," I repeated the words, letting them hang in the air like a bitter pill. The irony was suffocating. Where had this sisterly devotion been when Clara laughed at my twelve-year-old daughter? Where was this desperate plea when Tyler rolled Grace’s wheelchair away for his own amusement, leaving her stranded and humiliated in front of the entire family?
"Clara," I said, every syllable dripping with a chilling calmness. "You lost the right to call me your sister the moment you let your son abuse my child. You lost that right when you chose cruelty over family. Why are you calling me?"
"Because you won," Clara cried openly now, her voice cracking with a pathetic desperation that used to move me, but now felt like just another manipulative performance. "You destroyed everything. The board ousted me, the accounts are frozen, and our relatives won't even answer my calls. Everyone is pretending I don't exist just because I backed the wrong horse. But you... you have money now. You have power. You can fix this with a single word to your contacts. You can save us."
I closed my eyes, taking a slow, measured breath. The sheer, unadulterated audacity of her request staggered me. After everything she had put Grace through, after the medical gaslighting, the public humiliation, and the casual cruelty, she still believed the world revolved around her convenience. She still thought I was the quiet, submissive sister she could walk all over.
"Save you?" I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Clara, you dug your own grave with a golden shovel, and now that you've hit rock bottom, you expect me to pull you out? Absolutely not. Do not ever call this number again."
"Wait! Natalie, wait!" Clara shrieked through the phone, the desperation turning frantic. "It’s not just about me. It’s about Tyler. He’s... he’s completely fallen apart. He needs help, Natalie. He’s your nephew!"
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"My nephew doesn't live in my world anymore," I replied coldly. "And neither do you. Goodbye, Clara."
I hung up the phone, my hand trembling slightly not from fear, but from the residual adrenaline of confrontation. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the blank screen, wondering if this was truly the end of it, or if Clara’s descent was only just beginning to drag others down with her.
