Their faces were a ruin of terror. They were no longer the aggrieved family here to shame their wayward daughter. They were criminals standing in the office of the only person who had the evidence to send them to prison.
I stood up, my movements slow and deliberate.
“I suggest you leave,” I said, my voice dropping to a near whisper, yet more powerful than any shout. “You are trespassing, and you no longer have any claim on my time or my resources. My support has been officially and permanently terminated.”
They left.
There were no more arguments, no more accusations. My father looked 100 years old. My mother was openly weeping, not for me, but for herself.
Chloe stared at me, her eyes filled with a new kind of emotion: pure, unadulterated fear. She knew I had her.
They walked out of the office in utter silence, the glass doors closing softly behind them.
Mr. Harrison was at my desk seconds later.
“Evelyn, are you all right? What was that?”
I looked at my boss, the man who had questioned my stability just yesterday.
“Just closing a bad investment, sir,” I said. “The account is now reconciled.”
He stared at me for a moment, then nodded slowly, a look of dawning respect in his eyes. He never brought it up again.