Chapter 2: The Eviction
For three full seconds, nobody moved.
The only sound in the room was Lily's ragged coughing against Maya's shoulder.
Then Brenda laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she genuinely believed Marcus was bluffing.
"Oh, sweetheart," she said, crossing one leg over the other. "You're emotional. Long flight. You're exhausted."
Marcus didn't blink.
"I said leave."
Rachel tossed her tablet onto the couch.
"You can't seriously throw your own family out because your wife couldn't handle a little pressure."
That sentence finally made Maya lift her head.
Her eyes were swollen from days of crying.
"I never asked either of you to clean," she whispered. "I only asked if one of you could watch Lily while I threw up."
Rachel rolled her eyes.
"You were exaggerating."
Marcus slowly turned toward Maya.
"How many days?"
She hesitated.
"...Five."
His jaw tightened.
"Five days?"
She nodded.
"They said they came to help after the doctor told me to stay off my feet."
Another pause.
"But every morning they slept until eleven."
Brenda interrupted.
"We're guests."
Marcus looked around the disaster surrounding them.
Guests.
The sink overflowing with dishes Maya had washed.
Laundry folded into neat piles.
Empty wine bottles beside Brenda's chair.
A shopping bag containing expensive designer shoes.
Receipts scattered across the coffee table.
Thousands of dollars spent while his pregnant wife struggled to carry a feverish child.
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out his phone.
Opened the home security app.
"I installed cameras last year after the neighborhood break-ins."
Brenda's confident smile faltered.
"The cameras record audio."
Silence.
Marcus tapped play.
The kitchen speakers filled with Brenda's voice from two days earlier.
"Leave the crying kid with her. If she keeps running around after that little brat, maybe she'll finally learn what motherhood is."
Another recording.
Rachel laughing.
"If she miscarries because she refuses to rest, that's not our problem."
Maya covered her mouth.
She had never known those conversations were recorded.
Marcus stared at his mother.
"I trusted you."
Brenda's face turned white.
"You weren't supposed to hear that."
"No," Marcus replied quietly.
"I wasn't supposed to discover who you really are."
He picked up both suitcases himself.
Walked to the front door.
Opened it.
"You have sixty seconds."
Brenda refused to move.
"You'll regret humiliating your own mother."
Marcus calmly set the luggage outside.
"I already regret inviting you into my home."
The front door closed behind them.
And locked.
May you like
For the first time in nearly a week...
The house became peaceful.
