It was a test. A test to see who deserved a share of the eight replacement homes our family was entitled to.
Since they all thought I was heartless, fine.
All eight properties would go to me.
The moment that news got out, my cousin's entire family showed up at my doorstep—on their knees.
1.
The chat window still displayed Jarvis's last voice message, practically vibrating with hostility.
[It's just $50,000! Nag, nag, nag—it's not like I'm never paying you back. Is this really necessary?]
I kept my composure, forcing my tone to stay level.
[Jarvis, I'm not trying to pressure you. We agreed this was a loan for your wedding emergency. Your baby's already had his one-month celebration.]
[My company's cash flow is tight right now too. I scraped together that $50,000 from nothing.]
The message went through.
Silence.
I tapped open his social feed.
His latest post was from thirty minutes ago.
The photo showed a thick gold chain draped across velvet, next to a receipt from some upscale lounge.
The caption read: [Life's hard, but you gotta treat yourself sometimes. Tonight we drink till we drop, boys!]
Money for gold chains. Money for VIP lounges. But no money to repay the cousin who bailed him out?