Chapter 4 - The Fake Heart Attack
"Chest pains," I muttered to myself, staring at the polished mahogany of the bedroom door with a cold, humorless smile. Lorraine’s theatrical medical emergencies were legendary in the family lore; whenever she was cornered in an argument or caught in a lie, her blood pressure miraculously skyrocketed, requiring immediate dramatics and maximum sympathy.
The knocking continued, accompanied by loud, synchronized gasping sounds from the hallway.
"Maya! I'm serious!" Daniel’s voice cracked, dripping with genuine panic now—though whether it was for his mother’s health or his own impending arrest, I couldn't tell. "She’s clutching her arm! Call an ambulance!"
I walked slowly across the bedroom, unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.
Lorraine was slumped dramatically against the hallway wall, her designer blouse artfully disheveled, one hand pressed firmly over her sternum while her eyes remained half-open, monitoring my reaction. Trevor was hovering nearby, holding a glass of tap water that was spilling over the rim.
"Ohhh... my heart..." Lorraine moaned, pitching her voice to sound like a tragic Victorian heroine on her deathbed. "The cruelty... the coldness... my own daughter-in-law is driving me to the grave..."
I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms, and looked down at her with clinical detachment.
"If you're having a myocardial infarction, Lorraine, you shouldn't waste time groaning in the hallway," I said evenly. "Let me call 911 right now. The paramedics usually arrive in under six minutes. Of course, when they run the mandatory toxicology and insurance intake screening at the hospital, they'll also check your vital signs against your previous medical records. And since Detective Miller is already reviewing local fraud reports, I'm sure the ER billing department will be fascinated to learn who is paying for your private room."
Lorraine’s dramatic gasping stuttered to an abrupt halt. Her eyelids fluttered open, fully alert.
"You... you heartless monster," Lorraine hissed, her miraculous recovery taking less than three seconds as she shoved herself up from the floor with surprising agility. "You’re calling the police on your own family? On Daniel’s mother and brother?"
"That’s not family, Lorraine. That’s an organized crime syndicate operating out of my guest room," I replied, stepping back into the bedroom and picking up my packed suitcase.
Daniel lunged forward, grabbing the edge of the suitcase before I could zip it shut. "Maya, stop! Just stop for five minutes and listen to me! We can fix this! We can send Mom and Trevor to a hotel tonight! I'll pay for it out of my own freelance account!"
"With what money, Daniel?" I asked, looking him dead in the eye. "Your freelance account has been in the negative for four months. The only reason we haven't bounced our mortgage payment is because my salary has been floating your lifestyle."
Daniel’s face flushed a deep, ugly crimson. The mask of the loving, helpless husband finally slipped away, revealing the bitter, resentful man underneath.
"You think you're better than me, don't you?" Daniel spat, his grip tightening on the suitcase handle until his knuckles turned white. "Always lording your salary over me! Always making me feel like a guest in my own home! Well, guess what? A marriage is supposed to be a partnership! When my family needed help, you slammed the door in their faces!"
"I didn't slam the door in their faces, Daniel. I welcomed them for two weeks," I said, my voice cutting through his rant like a scalpel. "Instead, they took over my office, chained my refrigerator, stole my groceries, and tried to take out a forty-eight-thousand-dollar fraudulent loan in my name using our home Wi-Fi."
May you like
Trevor stepped into the doorway, puffing out his chest. "You can't prove we did that! Show us the warrant! Show us the proof!"
"You'll see the proof when the subpoena lands on your phone, Trevor," I said calmly, yanking the suitcase handle out of Daniel's slack grip. "And as for you, Daniel—consider this your formal notice. My attorney will be filing for divorce and an emergency asset restraining order first thing tomorrow morning."
