Chapter 6 - THE FAMILY SHOWDOWN AT THE NICU
Two weeks later, my parents and Lauren made a desperate, ugly appearance at City General Hospital.
They must have figured out that playing nice was no longer an option, or perhaps the federal agents knocking on their front door had driven them completely insane. I was sitting in the hospital cafeteria, sipping a cup of lukewarm black coffee, when I saw them storming through the sliding glass doors.
Mom looked older, her expensive makeup caked over deep, panicked wrinkles. Dad trailed behind her, looking pale and defeated, while Lauren pushed an empty stroller ahead of her like a battering ram, her face twisted in narcissistic fury.
They spotted me near the back corner booth and marched straight over, drawing startled looks from nurses and visitors alike.
"You psychotic little traitor!" my mother shrieked, slamming her designer handbag onto my table so hard the coffee cup rattled. "How dare you call the police? How dare you sic federal investigators on your own flesh and blood over a stupid family disagreement?!"
I didn't flinch. I slowly set my coffee cup down, crossed my arms over my chest, and looked up at her with eyes as cold as arctic ice.
"A family disagreement?" I repeated, my voice steady and carrying clearly across the quiet cafeteria. "You punched an eight-months-pregnant woman in the stomach with full force. You watched me sink to the bottom of a pool and told my father to let me drown. That wasn't a disagreement, Mother. That was attempted murder."
"We were just joking around!" Lauren snapped, stepping forward with a defensive snarl. "You always have to make everything about you! You’re jealous because my baby shower was better, because Mom loves me more, and because you couldn't stand seeing me happy for once in your miserable, widowed life!"
The cruelty in her words hit me, but it didn't hurt anymore—it only solidified the absolute disgust I felt for the parasites who had raised me.
"Keep talking, Lauren," I said softly, pulling a thick Manila folder out from beneath my bag and dropping it onto the table with a heavy thud. "Every word you’re shouting right now is being recorded by the security cameras overhead. And inside this folder? Copies of the asset seizures currently being executed against your house, your bank accounts, and your fraudulent shell company leases."
Dad’s face drained of what little color it had left. He grabbed Mom’s arm, his voice trembling. "Eleanor... shut up. Just shut up. She’s not bluffing."
"Oh, I’m far from bluffing," I said, standing up slowly to tower over them despite my lingering physical soreness. "You thought you could break me, take my baby’s future, and leave me for dead. But you severely underestimated who you were messing with. Security is already on their way to escort you off hospital grounds. And if any of you ever come within five hundred yards of me or my son Noah again, I promise you, the federal indictment will be the least of your worries."
Just then, two burly hospital security guards flanked our table, their expressions grim.
May you like
"Mr. and Mrs. Vance, Ms. Lauren," the head guard said firmly. "You need to leave the premises immediately, or we will have you arrested for trespassing."
Mom opened her mouth to scream another insult, but Dad grabbed her elbow and dragged her backward, humiliated and defeated, while Lauren glared at me with pure venom as they were escorted out of the building.
