Chapter 17 - The Emergency Summit
By 8:00 AM, Vanessa was awake, pouring her own coffee and stepping out onto the patio just as my phone started buzzing again. And again. And again.
Three different numbers flashing simultaneously on my screen: Aunt Linda, Uncle Greg Sr., and Cousin Marcus (not Brenda's husband, but another distant cousin who had also tried to play high-stakes social climber).
"Let me guess," Vanessa said grimly, leaning against the doorframe and watching the phone vibrate across the wooden table. "The shockwaves from Brenda's meltdown have hit the rest of the extended family network."
"Aunt Linda's business accounts are frozen due to corporate tax commingling," I sighed, picking up the phone and turning it face down. "And based on the caller ID, the rest of the amateur syndicate is waking up to realize that playing fast and loose with financial fraud has real-world consequences."
Vanessa took a sip of her coffee, her expression a mix of vindication and lingering anxiety. "Do you think they'll come after us?"
"They can try," I said, my voice steady. "But legally, morally, and financially, we are bulletproof. I didn't freeze their accounts—the federal compliance software did, based on the illegal paper trail *they* created. All I did was stop paying extortion money and hand the audit over to the proper authorities."
Just then, the front doorbell rang.
Vanessa and I exchanged a look. "I'll get it," Vanessa said, setting her mug down and walking through the house toward the front door.
I followed closely behind her, my laptop tucked under my arm just in case I needed to pull up a balance sheet or a bank statement to shut down another hysterical confrontation.
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Vanessa pulled the door open. Standing on the porch wasn't Brenda or Linda. It was Uncle Greg Sr., flanked by Cousin Marcus, both looking like whipped dogs standing in the rain—except the sun was shining brightly overhead.
"Vanessa," Greg Sr. said, his voice uncharacteristically meek, avoiding eye contact. "Nora. Can we... can we come in? We need to talk."
