“Whose house is this?” she demanded. “Who are you sleeping with? I’m calling the police!”

“I own the deed,” I said calmly. “Paid in cash.”

“Liar!” Chloe shouted. “You’re a dropout!”

I snapped my fingers.

A waiter emerged carrying fifty cream-colored envelopes.

“Please,” I said. “Party favors.”

They opened them.

“It’s a bank transfer,” I narrated evenly. “May 12th, 2019. Forty-two thousand dollars withdrawn from my education trust. Transferred to Barbara Carter. Then to escrow for Chloe’s house.”

Fifty pairs of eyes turned to my mother.

Aunt Karen went pale. “Barbara… you said Maya gambled it away.”

“I was holding it!” my mother stammered.

“You spent it on a patio,” I replied.

I stepped closer.

“I worked three jobs while you bought curtains. I built a tech company while you told everyone I was a failure. I sold it for more money than you will see in ten lifetimes.”

I gestured to my lawyer.

“You’re being served for fraud and embezzlement. We’ve placed a lien on the property purchased with stolen funds.”

Chloe’s house.

---

Chapter 5: The Eviction of Ego

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

“Maya, darling,” Aunt Karen rushed forward. “I always knew you were special.”

“No,” I said. “You laughed.”