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My mother finally exploded in rage. “You are an ungrateful wretch! Think about everything we did for you, everything we sacrificed to raise you.”
I laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Did you actually sacrifice anything? When I was twelve, you went to the beach resort on the same day as my big school competition and told me that it was a shame you could not attend. When I graduated from the university, you arrived hours late because you stayed to watch my brother play golf. When Abigail was born, my mother left the hospital early because she said she had seen enough and had a dinner party to attend.”
Javier was my older brother. The golden child. The one who never paid for anything, but always received the loudest applause.
“Do not bring up the past,” my father commanded.
“They are not just things from the past, they are the foundation of who you are.”
I hung up the phone. I thought that would be the end of it for a while, but I had made a grave mistake by underestimating their malice.
That same afternoon, my mother wrote a message in the family group chat. “It is with a heavy heart that we must share the news that Catherine is demanding thousands of dollars from us because Abigail felt ill and could not continue the trip. She has also decided to stop supporting her parents financially, so please pray for her, because money and greed are truly hardening her heart.”
I attached a screenshot of my initial message, but I cropped it out so only the demand for money was visible. The replies arrived within minutes from various relatives. “You have always been cold and distant, Catherine.” “Poor parents, they do not deserve this treatment.” “A daughter should never charge her own parents for anything.”
I took a deep breath. Then I wrote my own response to the entire family. “Abigail did not just feel sick, she had motion sickness in the van. My parents left her alone on a highway, sent me a digital pin, and then drove off to the airport. She was completely alone until I managed to reach her.”
There was a deafening silence in the chat. Then the doubts began to surface. “That does not sound like Robert and Theresa.” “It must have been a misunderstanding.” “Perhaps there were people nearby the whole time.”
And then my father made the mistake that changed everything forever. He replied to the group, “Any rational person would have done the exact same thing in our position. We had a flight to catch, and we could not risk the health of the other grandchildren because of a temper tantrum.”
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