Kicked Out For My Sister’s Baby I Returned Rich Chapter 13
A month later, Marlene got my new number from a relative.
When the call came in from a number I didn’t recognize, I declined it. A run of texts arrived almost at once.
She said she’d been a fool. She said Gordon’s health was failing, that Regina couldn’t manage the baby on her own, and she pleaded with me, for the sake of family, to come back—if only to straighten out their bills and insurance.
I read the messages and blocked the number.
Two weeks later, another unfamiliar number rang.
My father’s voice was thin. “Thea, I had a heart attack. I may not get to see you one last time.”
“Send me the address and I’ll call an ambulance for you.”
I ended the call and blocked that number, too.
After that, scraps of news reached me through relatives.
Trent couldn’t keep a steady job and spent every month scrambling under the weight of child support. Regina fought with him endlessly over money, then handed their child off to her parents while she picked up low-wage part-time shifts. Each time she came home, she cursed Trent for being broke and her parents for being useless.
Gordon and Marlene, packed into that cramped rental, had to swallow their daughter’s complaints while chasing after a restless grandchild.
Late at night, Marlene would sit and stare at the pile of bills on the table.
Once, a relative overheard her murmur,
“If only Thea were still here…”
When that reached me, I answered with a single sentence.
“Got it.”
Then I hung up and went back to reworking a new client’s household asset restructuring plan.