Chapter 4 - The Reckoning at Park Slope
Three days later, Maya and Liam were officially discharged from the hospital. Instead of taking them back to our apartment—which felt tainted by the memories of cruelty—I had rented a luxury penthouse suite at a quiet, secured hotel in Manhattan, complete with round-the-clock private nursing care and top-tier security guards.
Leaving Maya in safe hands, I went back to the Park Slope apartment to gather our belongings and prepare the residence for sale.
As I opened the front door, I found Eleanor, Chloe, and Mark standing in the hallway, looking disheveled, exhausted, and furious. Having posted bail in Miami through a predatory bail bondsman, they had flown back on cheap standby tickets and forced their way into the building using an old spare key.
"David!" Eleanor shrieked the moment she saw me, marching into the foyer like a crazed tyrant. "How dare you! How dare you humiliate your own mother and sister in front of hundreds of people!"
"Do you have any idea what we went through?!" Chloe yelled, her eyes bloodshot. "We spent two nights in a disgusting Florida holding cell! All because your pathetic, useless wife couldn't handle a few days alone!"
Mark stepped forward aggressively, pointing a finger at my chest. "You canceled our cards! We had to leave our luggage at the hotel as collateral! You’re going to fix this right now, David, or I swear—"
Before Mark could finish his sentence, I stepped into his personal space, my eyes cold as ice. Despite my exhaustion, I towered over him, and the absolute lethal quiet in my demeanor made him take an instinctual step backward.
"You took my baby's formula," I said, my voice echoing off the high ceilings. "You turned off the heat in a December freeze. You stripped my wife of her dignity while she bled on the floor. And you used my money to finance your vacation."
"It was just a joke!" Chloe stammered, her fake confidence cracking. "We were just testing her! She’s lazy, David! She just sits around doing nothing while you work!"
"She had an emergency C-section eleven days ago!" I roared, the anger bursting through my chest like thunder. "She almost died giving birth to my son! And you left her to rot with a cup of wallpaper paste!"
I pulled out my phone and tapped play on a video file. Eleanor’s voice boomed out loud and clear through the room’s speakers: “If she starves a little, she’ll learn her place.”
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Eleanor went deathly pale. Chloe covered her mouth in terror.
"You forgot about the security cameras," I whispered. "The grand jury has already seen every frame. You aren't just cut off, Eleanor. You are ruined."
