Chapter 6
PART 6:
His mother sent long messages.
You’re choosing her over your own blood.
Your father would be ashamed.
She turned you against us.
His sister sent a different kind.
We didn’t know it was serious.
She never said she was that bad.
Tell Emily we’re sorry if she felt hurt.
Ethan read that one twice.
Then he typed back:
You recorded her crying while she was eight months pregnant. That was not a misunderstanding.
When Emily was finally stable enough to rest, Ethan drove home.
Not alone.
He brought his best friend Marcus and two moving company workers.
He also brought a printed copy of the deed.
When he walked into the house, his mother was sitting at the dining table like she owned the place.
His sister was on the couch.
His cousin was eating from a takeout container.
The kitchen was still dirty.
Nobody had cleaned the broken plate.
Ethan stood in the middle of the room and looked at them.
“You had two days.”
His mother lifted her chin.
“I am not leaving my son’s house.”
Ethan placed the deed on the table.
“It’s not my house.”
That made everyone pause.
His sister frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Ethan tapped the paper.
“Emily is on the deed. Emily helped buy this house. Emily paid into this house before any of you stepped through that door.”
His mother’s face changed.
Just slightly.
Enough.
Ethan continued.
“So when you called her a freeloader, you were standing in her kitchen.”
His cousin stopped chewing.
His sister stared at the floor.
His mother grabbed the paper and scanned it.
Her mouth tightened when she saw Emily’s name.
“You never told us.”
Ethan laughed once, bitterly.
“Because we didn’t think decent people needed a deed to respect a pregnant woman.”
No one spoke.
Then Ethan said the words clearly.
“You are not being asked anymore. You are leaving today.”
His mother stood.
“You’ll regret this when she turns on you.”
Ethan looked at her with a sadness that had no softness left.
May you like
“No. I regret letting you turn on her.”
👉 By evening, the house was finally quiet — but Ethan’s family still thought the baby would erase everything.
