Chapter 68
“Ma, what are we going to do now?” Monica asked. She still felt a little dizzy when she heard that Izzy wanted to evict them. from the house. She couldn’t help but wonder if Izzy was serious this time. “I thought you already took care of this house. The title Monica got up, pausing to stare at her mother.
“The title of the house!” Antalia and Monica said at the same time, running toward Izzy’s room. The two of them hadn’t had the chance to check the documents in Izzy’s vault because they didn’t want Izzy to notice.
Amalia and Monica burst into Izzy’s room, their movements urgent and uncoordinated. Amaña immediately headed straight to the desk, where Izzy’s vault was concealed. Monica stood in the doorway for a moment, watching as her mother frantically attempted to input the vault’s password.
“Do you remember the code?” Monica asked, stepping closer.
Amalia didn’t answer immediately. She punched in a sequence of numbers, then another, but the small screen flashed red. The vault remained locked. Amalia’s lips thinned, her hands trembling as she keyed in another attempt.
“It’s not working,” she muttered.
Monica crossed her arms. “Of course, it’s not. She must’ve changed it.”
SO
Amalia froze for a moment before continuing her futile attempts. “How? She’s been gone for long! How could she have changed it? Do you think she secretly came here when we were out? What about the documents inside? Do you think she took them?”
Monica’s brow furrowed as she considered this. “She must’ve done it before she left. And if she did…” Her voice trailed off as she glanced at her mother. “She must’ve known.”
Amalia looked up, her face pale. “Known what?”
“About the documents. Did you take some of them? Did you pawn them again?”
Amalia’s hands dropped to her sides. Her face went slack, and for a moment, she said nothing. Her gaze avoiding Monica’s piercing stare.
“Mom,” Monica pressed, stepping closer. “Did you?”
darted away,
Amalia turned toward the desk, gripping its edge tightly. She didn’t respond, her silence saying more than words could.
Monica’s shoulders stiffened. “You did, didn’t you? That’s why you’re panicking. You’ve been pawning her properties to feed your gambling problem.”
“I always got them back,” Amalia said quickly, her voice low. “Every time. I made sure to return them once I paid off the loans. And–and I don’t gamble anymore.”
Monica snorted. “You don’t gamble…” sh
nodded.
fathe. But you’re still giving money to that useless piece of-”
That mean you calig udes is your fathe
Monica! H
“That man you’re calling useless is your could you call him useless?”
Monica looked at her mother in disbelief. She had so many things to say but she decided to focus on the current issue. “What if she finds out?” Monica demanded. “What if that’s why she changed the password? What if she took everything? What if she started investigating a long time ago? Do you think she’d forgive you?”
Amalia turned to face her daughter, her f
grained of color. “She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t leave us with nothing.”
“Are you serious?” Monica threw her hands up.
st served you an eviction notice, Mom! Clearly, she’s done with us.”
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Chapter 68
Amalia’s knees buckled slightly. She leaned against the desk for support. Her lips moved as if she wanted to speak, but no
sound came out.
“This is exactly what I was afraid of. You always think you can gamble your of trouble, and now look where it’s gotten us,” Monica said,
‘dy of
Amalia’s head snapped up, hier expression defensive. “Don’t you dare lecture me! I your father! This time it took him a long time to recover, but he pay soon, documents and 1-”
pawned them a few times to help
+5
that happens, I can return the
“Do you ever listen to yourself?” Monica asked. “What the hell are you going to do if she reports this to the authorities?”
“Izzy isn’t going to the police. She wouldn’t risk tarnishing the family name. She’s just angry, Monica. She’s waiting for us to
tryin to convince Monica or herself. “Especially if she
apologize. That’s all,” Amalia said. Although she wasn’t sure if she was all
knew that you are pregnant.”
Monica stared at her mother in disbelief. “Are you serious? You think me being pregnant with her boyfriend’s child will fix this? She served you an eviction notice, for crying out loud! Do you think she did that because she’s waiting for a heartfelt apology?”
“She’s upset, but she’ll come around. She knows we’re family. She wouldn’t destroy her own blood. Besides… she must have done this because of Calen. That’s right. It was because of what you and Calen did!”
Monica snorted. At the end of the day, her mother was blaming her… again. She let out a bitter laugh. A part of her wondered if her mother had lost her mind. Was she delusional?“You need to use the money from selling my bags to buy back those documents,” she said.
Amalia’s head snapped up. “What? You expect me to use that money? That’s for my trip!”
Monica’s lips curled into a bitter smirk. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t you prioritize a vacation over fixing the mess you made? Why the hell would you treat your
friends when you don’t even have a house over your head?”
“That is for a much–needed vacation. The rest of that money can be used for us to start over, to get away from all of this stress. I need it. We need it.”
“Start over where? You’re about to lose this house. Izzy’s not bluffing. She’ll throw us out, and then what? You’ll be sipping cocktails on some beach while the sheriff’s dragging our stuff to the curb?” Monica would soon have money from Calen. However, Amalia is different. She’s been using Izzy’s money for years. She didn’t have a job or savings and she just sold most of her things to fund a trip with her friends! She has nothing aside from Monica.
Sadly, Monica isn’t planning to stay.
“Don’t exaggerate. We’ll figure something out. Both of us know that this is temporary. I know Izzy will come around soon. I raised her for so many years. Surely, she wouldn’t actually kick us out, right?”
When Monica didn’t answer, Amalia faltered, her eyes darting to the floor. “Besides I… I still have the property downtown. It’s small, but it’s mine. I can fix it up. It’s not like we’ll be on the streets.”
Monica let out a humorless laugh. “You mean that decrepit building with the peeling paint and broken plumbing? The one without a functioning air conditioner? Is that where you’re planning to live after all this time in Izzy’s house?”
Amalia frowned, her hands trembling slightly. “It’s a roof over our heads. It’s enough.”
“For you, maybe,” Monica said, her expression hard. “But I’m not going back there. I’m moving out. I’ll find an apartment.”
“You- Are you saying that you are going to leave your mother behind?”
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