Chapter 6 - The Family Meeting
By Sunday morning, my phone had received forty-three messages.
My cousins said I had broken my mother’s heart.
My uncle accused Amy of turning me against my family.
Aunt Betsy wrote three paragraphs about respect.
Not one person asked why Amy had been washing dishes with a sick baby.
So I stopped answering privately.
Instead, I invited the adults who had attended the party to a family meeting.
Amy thought I had lost my mind.
“Why would you bring them back here?”
“I’m not.”
I rented a conference room at a small hotel near downtown Nashville.
No food.
No alcohol.
No birthday decorations.
Just chairs, a projector, and evidence.
Teresa arrived wearing black.
Of course she did.
She looked like she was attending her own funeral.
Betsy sat beside her.
My uncle Howard glared at me.
When everyone was seated, Teresa stood.
“I would like to say something.”
“No.”
The room went quiet.
My mother stared at me.
“I’m your mother.”
“And I’m speaking first.”
I connected my laptop to the projector.
The first image was a bank statement.
Nine transfers.
Twenty-seven thousand dollars.
I explained why I had sent the money.
Then Amy explained how much she had actually received.
Four hundred here.
Five hundred there.
Teresa interrupted.
“I paid for other things.”
“Show me.”
She folded her arms.
“I don’t save every receipt.”
I switched slides.
Utility bills.
Groceries.
Medical expenses.
All paid from Amy’s and my accounts.
Then I played the birthday footage.
Nobody moved.
They watched Teresa order Amy into the kitchen.
They heard her dismiss Frederick’s fever.
They heard Betsy ask about the loan.
Then they heard my mother divide eighty-five thousand dollars that did not belong to her.
Uncle Howard slowly turned toward Teresa.
“What loan?”
Teresa stood.
“This is edited.”
“It came directly from my security system.”
“You’re humiliating me.”
I almost couldn’t believe it.
“That’s what you’re worried about?”
Tears filled her eyes.
There it was.
The performance.
“I gave my life to this family.”
I looked around the room.
“So did Amy.”
Teresa pointed at her.
“She has poisoned you.”
Amy stayed seated.
She did not defend herself.
She did not need to.
I played the final clip.
My mother’s voice filled the room.
“I need Connor to believe Amy is unstable.”
Every face changed.
Betsy stood suddenly.
“I didn’t know about that part.”
Teresa whipped around.
“Sit down.”
Betsy didn’t.
“You said Connor agreed with the loan.”
My mother’s expression became dangerous.
“You benefited too.”
The room erupted.
I raised my voice.
“Enough.”
Everyone stopped.
I looked at Teresa.
“You are not coming into our house.”
Her eyes widened.
“You will not contact Amy without her permission.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You can’t keep my grandson from me.”
“I can protect my family.”
Then Teresa smiled.
A small, cold smile.
“We’ll see what a judge says.”
Amy grabbed my hand beneath the table.
May you like
Because apparently my mother had already found another way to attack us.
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