Brenda’s jaw dropped as her eyes swept over the expansive glass walls, the infinity pool, and the pristine grounds.
She realized instantly that the basement room she had tried to force me into was a joke compared to the life I had built entirely on my own.
“Alicia,” my father gasped, stepping onto the porch, his voice cracking with emotion. “You… You bought this place?”
I set my coffee cup down on the glass table, leaning back in my chair, looking at them with calm, undisturbed indifference.
“Yes, Dad. I bought it three months ago.”
Brenda stepped forward, her former arrogant demeanor completely shattered, her face pale and desperate.
“Alicia, please, you have to stop the eviction process. The lawyer said we have to leave by the end of the month or face court ordered removal. We don’t have the money to pay rent in Austin, let alone $24,000 in back rent.”
“You told me to pack my bags and get out, Brenda,” I said softly, my voice cold as ice. “I simply followed your instructions.”
“We didn’t know,” my father wailed, ringing his hands pathetically. “We didn’t know your mother left you the house trust. Alicia, I’m your father. How could you do this to your own family?”
I stood up, stepping to the edge of the porch, looking down at my father with absolute clarity.
“You let your wife disrespect me for 9 years, Dad,” I stated, each word measured and heavy. “You let her treat me like a servant in my own mother’s house. You watched her try to force me into a windowless basement for Vanessa’s vanity, and you said nothing.”
“You didn’t care about family when you thought I had no leverage. You only care now because you’re about to be homeless.”
Brenda fell to her knees on the wooden porch, tears streaming down her face as she reached toward me.
“Alicia, please, we’ll give you the master bedroom back. Vanessa will stay in her own room. Just let us stay in the Oakidge house. We have nowhere else to go.”