The smell of medical alcohol and the steady “beep… beep” of the heart monitor were the first things that greeted me back in the real world.
I am Maya Vance. My back ached as if someone had poured a pan of burning coals along my spine. The six-hour spinal fusion surgery at Seattle Medical Center was finally over. I had suffered from nerve pain for two years, and this surgery was my only hope of avoiding a wheelchair by the time I turned thirty.
I laboriously reached for the phone on my bedside table, its arm still hooked with IV lines. The screen lit up, and a number caught my eye that made me frown: 23 missed calls.
All from my father, Richard Vance.
A feeling of unease welled up in my stomach. The Vance family had never cared about me. In their eyes, I was just a money-making machine, a daughter who always had to give in and sacrifice everything for Chloe – her twenty-five-year-old sister, the pampered blonde “little princess” spoiled by our parents. I moved out of the house at eighteen, working eighty hours a week at an auditing firm to buy myself a $450,000 luxury apartment in downtown Seattle.
I trembled as I clicked the voicemail icon. My father’s familiar, cold, and commanding voice boomed through the speakerphone:
“Maya, it’s me. I know you just had surgery, but we have an urgent matter. Chloe needs money to pay the wedding organizers at the Plaza Hotel. Your parents have already sold your apartment. You were unconscious, so we asked Uncle Bob at the notary office to sign a power of attorney for you. Everything’s done. $450,000 has been transferred. Don’t make a fuss, you’re the older sister, consider this a wedding gift for your younger sister. After you’re discharged, come and live with us for now.”
The recording ended with a lifeless beep.
I lay there, staring at the stark white ceiling of the hospital.
They had sold my house. While I lay on the operating table, my back cut open, under deep anesthesia, completely unconscious, those of my blood relatives rummaged through my office drawers, took my property deed, forged my signature on a wretched power of attorney, and sold off my only home.
Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars vanished. It became imported roses, a champagne tower, and a designer wedding dress for Chloe.
Any normal person in this situation would scream, cry, smash their phone, or call the police in a fit of utter panic.
But I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream.
I slowly closed my eyes. A faint, sharp smile, like a scalpel, formed on my dry lips.
Click.
The hospital room door opened.
My father, my mother (Eleanor), and Chloe walked in. They didn’t bring a bouquet of flowers or a basket of fruit. Chloe was glued to her phone, engrossed in browsing diamond ring designs. My parents walked to the end of the bed, their airs arrogant as if they’d just done something utterly obvious.
“Oh, awake,” Richard cleared his throat, his hands in his trouser pockets. “Did you hear Dad’s voicemail? Don’t look at us like that. You’ll be spending little time in that apartment anyway. Chloe needs a grand wedding to match her in-laws. Besides, we raised you; that little bit of money is nothing.”
“Mom’s had someone move your things to the attic at the old house,” Eleanor added, her voice nonchalant. “Just stay there and recover. When you’re better, go back to work and buy another place.”
Chloe looked up from her phone, a smirk on her face. “Thanks for the wedding gift, sister. You always know how to be helpful.”
They stood there, waiting for me to lose my temper. They expected me to cry and beg, so they could continue to humiliate and crush my self-respect as they had done for the past twenty-eight years.
But I calmly adjusted the knob on the headboard, raising my upper body.
“Did you use Uncle Bob’s notary services?” I asked, my voice calm and clear.
Richard frowned, slightly surprised by my composure. “Yes. Bob is a close friend of mine. He stamped your signature on the Power of Attorney. The buyer is a real estate investor paying in cash. Very quick and easy.”
“And you used that money to pay for Chloe’s entire wedding?”
“Of course,” Chloe interjected proudly. “Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The entire Plaza ballroom, the South African orchids, and the symphony orchestra. The money was transferred non-refundable to the partners this morning.”
I nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. “Good. So the money’s all gone.”
“What kind of attitude is that?” Richard began to get angry. “I told you not to make a fuss…”
“I’m not making a fuss,” I interrupted him, my eyes suddenly turning icy cold. “I’m just wondering where you’re going to get the money to pay off the Chase Manhattan bank when they foreclose on your mansion tomorrow morning.”
All three of them froze. The atmosphere in the hospital room suddenly became tense.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Eleanor frowned, taking a step forward. “The mansion…”
“What does our house have to do with this?”
Just then, the hospital room door opened again.
Liam—my fiancé, and a sharp federal prosecutor—walked in. He was wearing a crisp gray suit, carrying a thick stack of files. Following him were two men in black suits, their FBI agent badges gleaming on their chests.
“I’m a little late, my love. The doctor says you’re recovering well,” Liam stepped forward, gently placing a kiss on my forehead, then turned to look at the three men standing frozen in the room. His smile vanished, replaced by the cold expression of a law enforcement officer.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vance.” “Hello, Chloe,” Liam said, tossing the file onto the small table at the foot of the bed. “I heard the family had a very ‘successful’ real estate deal this morning.”
Richard recoiled, his face turning pale at the sight of the FBI badge. “Liam… what’s this? Why did you bring the police here? This is a family matter!”
“No, Richard. This is federal law,” I said, my voice cutting through the tense atmosphere.
I looked my father straight in the eye. “Do you really think that an auditor investigating financial fraud like me would carelessly leave my apartment’s title deed in a drawer for you to steal?”
Richard’s face turned from red to deathly pale.
“Six months ago,” I continued, savoring their moment of collapse. “I knew you were secretly investigating the value of my apartment.” “So, I transferred ownership of the entire apartment into an Irrevocable Trust managed by Liam’s law firm. Legally, the apartment is no longer my personal property. No personal power of attorney can sell it.”
“Lies!” Chloe shouted. “If you couldn’t sell it, why did the buyer transfer the money? Why did the money go into Dad’s account and he paid for my wedding?”
Liam crossed his arms, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Chloe. “Because, Chloe, the buyer of that apartment wasn’t an ordinary investor.” “He’s an FBI undercover agent.”
Richard staggered, his back hitting the wall. “W-what?”
“Your Uncle Bob has been under FBI surveillance for two years for forging real estate documents,” Liam explained coldly. “When Maya found out you were going to use Bob to forge her signature, we played along. We planted an agent posing as a cash buyer.”
I smiled, watching my father gasp for breath. “You’ve committed three federal crimes: Forgery, Real Estate Fraud, and Identity Theft. But that’s not the best part.”
I leaned forward, ignoring the pain in my back. “When you asked the bank for $450,000 to give them for their wedding, they required a temporary bridge loan while the apartment transfer was finalized.” “Dad was so desperate for the money that he signed papers using Mom and Dad’s mansion as collateral.”
Eleanor gasped, covering her face with her hands. “Richard… what did you do?”
“But your apartment will never be transferred,” I snarled. “The transaction was rejected because of forged documents. That means the $450,000 you just transferred to Chloe’s wedding planner… wasn’t from the sale of your house. It was borrowed against the very lifeblood of the Vance mansion, at an exorbitant interest rate.” And because Dad used forged documents to borrow that money, the bank classified it as bank fraud.
Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars had vanished. That’s right. But it vanished from their own pockets.
“You… you framed me!” Richard roared like a mad beast, lunging toward my hospital bed.
But before he could touch me, two FBI agents immediately tackled him to the floor. The sound of handcuffs snapping against his wrists was cold and sharp.
“Richard Vance, you are arrested for Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud, and Identity Theft,” one agent read aloud. “You have the right to remain silent…”
“Mom! No! My wedding!” Chloe screamed hysterically, hugging Eleanor, who stood frozen. “Cancel the party!” “Get your money back!”
“The money is non-refundable, Chloe,” Liam sneered. “Besides, your family’s bank account was frozen by the Department of Justice an hour ago. Tomorrow, the bank will come to seal the mansion to seize the $450,000 loan. Have a happy wedding on the streets.”
Eleanor collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably in utter despair and humiliation. The daughter she had always trampled on, always treated as a tool to exploit, had now single-handedly buried the entire pride and wealth of the Vance family.
They were escorted out of the hospital room by agents. Richard’s shouts and curses, Chloe and Eleanor’s heart-wrenching cries faded away down the hospital corridor. The room returned to its original silence.
I rested my head on my pillow, letting out a long sigh.
The malignant tumor called “family” had signed the contract.
The burden that had weighed on my life for the past twenty-eight years was finally removed. Painful, but thorough. Just like the spinal surgery I’d just undergone.
Liam pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. He gently took my cold hands, pressing them against his cheek. His eyes were filled with boundless pride and love.
“The surgery was a success, my warrior,” Liam whispered, kissing the back of my hand. “The doctor said you’ll be able to walk normally again in three months. Your apartment is safe. Your savings are safe. And from now on, no one will be able to hurt you again.”
I looked at him, tears of happiness beginning to roll down my cheeks. Not tears of weakness, but tears of someone who had won a long and arduous battle.
“Take me home, Liam,” I smiled softly, squeezing his hand tightly. “Back to our apartment.”
Outside the Seattle hospital window, the gloomy gray clouds began to dissipate, giving way to the first rays of a glorious afternoon sun. My spine had been straightened with sturdy titanium screws, and so had my spirit. For the first time in my life, I could confidently stand on my own two feet, free to embrace a future filled with light.
News
Every day, the old woman poured cooking oil around the foundation of her house. The ground was always sticky, making it unpleasant for anyone passing by. The whole village said she was “crazy.”…
Every day, the old woman poured cooking oil around the foundation of her house. The ground was always sticky, making it unpleasant for anyone passing by. The whole village said she was “crazy.” Then, when winter came, the ground froze…
The cowboy dug small trenches in the field every day. No one understood what he was doing. It looked like he was destroying the land. A heavy rain fell after a long drought…
The cowboy dug small trenches in the field every day. No one understood what he was doing. It looked like he was destroying the land. A heavy rain fell after a long drought… Red Rock Valley, deep in the barren…
An old cowboy would tie pieces of cloth to a fence every day. The wind would blow them wildly. Everyone thought he was “doing something pointless.” One night, thick fog…
An old cowboy would tie pieces of cloth to a fence every day. The wind would blow them wildly. Everyone thought he was “doing something pointless.” One night, thick fog… Devil’s Gorge, nestled among the foggy mountains of Washington State,…
The cowboy always carried two pairs of boots and changed them constantly. Others scoffed, “Isn’t one pair enough?” One day, the ground became muddy after a heavy rain…
The cowboy always carried two pairs of boots and changed them constantly. Others scoffed, “Isn’t one pair enough?” One day, the ground became muddy after a heavy rain… Bitterroot Valley, Montana, is a stunningly beautiful but also unseenly cruel wilderness….
I dreamt of my ex four times a week, and on the fifth time, she was standing right outside my door – and said something that made my wife break down.
I dreamt of my ex four times a week, and on the fifth time, she was standing right outside my door – and said something that made my wife break down. Seattle has been shrouded in a persistent, all-night rain…
Every night, Harold would sneak into the cemetery and remove the nameplates from the graves. Suspected of vandalizing the cemetery for years, the townspeople were determined to catch him red-handed—but when he died, the secret in an old notebook brought everyone to their knees…
Every night, Harold would sneak into the cemetery and remove the nameplates from the graves. Suspected of vandalizing the cemetery for years, the townspeople were determined to catch him red-handed—but when he died, the secret in an old notebook brought…
End of content
No more pages to load
