I leaned back in my chair.
Afternoon sunlight stretched across my large walnut desk.
Everything around me had been purchased through years of honest work.
I listened to the resentment in her voice.
Even after everything that had happened, she still believed she was the victim of my success.
She did not mention the stolen money.
She did not acknowledge Vanessa’s fraudulent invoices.
She did not apologize for the years she had spent humiliating me.
She only wanted me to feel responsible for the consequences of their choices.
And suddenly, I understood that she might never change.
“I never wanted her life, Mom,” I said quietly. “I never wanted her money, or her husband, or her hollow title. I just wanted you to stop telling me my life was worthless.”
She said nothing.
For nearly a minute, I heard only her uneven breathing.
Then the call ended.
I placed the receiver gently on my desk.
