Chapter 4: The Choice
Detective Hayes asked my parents to sit down.
Neither argued.
Richard suddenly looked ten years older.
His confidence had disappeared.
My mother quietly cried into her hands.
"I never wanted this," she whispered.
I looked at her.
"You watched it happen."
She couldn't deny it.
Brandon stepped forward.
"I made mistakes."
"Mistakes?" I asked.
"You demanded money meant for my chemotherapy."
"I owed people."
"And I owed my doctors."
The room became painfully quiet.
Jonathan slid one final document across the table.
It was my updated will.
Richard frowned.
"What is this?"
"My final decision."
"If I survive, every dollar I own goes to cancer research after my treatment."
"And if I don't survive..."
I paused.
"...none of you receive a single penny."
Brandon slammed his fist against the table.
"You're punishing your own family!"
I met his eyes.
May you like
"No."
"I'm protecting what's left of it."
