Chapter 6 - THE GOLDEN CHILD WAS A SHIELD
Chloe left the kitchen.
I found her sitting on my back steps ten minutes later.
For most of our lives, I had resented my sister.
She got the praise.
The tuition.
The expensive clothes.
The apartment deposit.
The constant speeches about her potential.
I got advice about working harder.
Now Chloe sat with her face in her hands.
“He used me.”
I sat beside her.
“Yes.”
“I thought he loved me more.”
The honesty hurt.
“I thought that too.”
She looked at me.
“I liked it.”
I appreciated that she didn’t pretend otherwise.
“I know.”
“When he compared us, I didn’t stop him.”
“No.”
“When Mom made fun of your waitressing job, I laughed sometimes.”
“I remember.”
She began crying again.
“I’m sorry.”
I stared at the backyard.
Apologies do not erase history.
But sometimes they are the first honest thing built after years of lies.
“Why fake the PhD?”
She wiped her eyes.
“Because Dad had already told everyone.”
“What?”
“He started telling family members I was graduating before my misconduct review finished.”
“So you went along with it?”
“At first I thought the university would let me revise.”
“And then?”
“They suspended me.”
“For how long?”
“Indefinitely pending review.”
“When did Dad find out?”
“Three months ago.”
“The same time Thomas contacted you.”
She nodded.
“Dad said everything could be fixed.”
“How?”
“Money.”
Of course.
“He wanted the house transferred so you could borrow against it?”
“Yes.”
“And pay Thomas?”
“Partly.”
“What else?”
Chloe stared at the grass.
“I owe a private lender.”
“The eighty thousand?”
She shook her head.
“That’s only what I asked for.”
My stomach tightened.
“How much do you actually owe?”
“One hundred forty-six thousand.”
I stood.
“What?”
“Most of it is credit cards and student debt.”
“That doesn’t add up.”
She closed her eyes.
“I made investments.”
“What kind?”
“Crypto. Options. A private startup.”
I stared at her.
“You gambled borrowed money.”
“I thought I could fix everything before anyone noticed.”
That sentence sounded exactly like Dad.
Maybe favoritism doesn’t only spoil a child.
Sometimes it teaches them that consequences are things other people absorb.
“When did you stop paying?”
“Two months ago.”
“Who is the lender?”
She hesitated.
“Not a bank.”
My stomach dropped.
“Chloe.”
“A private finance company.”
“Name.”
“Northbridge Capital.”
Thomas appeared behind us.
His face changed immediately.
“Say that again.”
Chloe looked up.
“Northbridge Capital.”
Thomas swore.
“What?”
He looked toward the house.
“Robert borrowed from them twenty years ago.”
I stared.
“Against what?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Your trust.”
My blood went cold.
Same lender.
Same family.
Same pattern.
Then Chloe’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her face drained.
“What?”
She held it out.
A message.
UNKNOWN:
Transfer the house by Friday or the university gets everything.
Below it was an attachment.
A photograph of Chloe taking cash from a man in a parking garage.
Nora had quietly joined us.
She looked at the image.
Then said:
“That man came here last week.”
I turned toward her.
“What?”
“He was sitting in a car across the street.”
Thomas immediately stood.
“What kind of car?”
“Black SUV.”
Chloe began trembling.
Then Nora said something that made everyone go still.
“He wasn’t watching Aunt Chloe.”
I looked at her.
May you like
“Who was he watching?”
“Grandpa.”
