I put him on speaker. «What kind of complaint?»
«Your parents filed a report claiming you’re harassing them financially and that the apartment sale was legitimate. But the bank’s investigation suggests otherwise.»
«The sale was fraudulent. I have documentation proving it.»
«We’d like to review that documentation. When will you be back in town?»
«Next week.»
«Perfect. We’ll be in touch.»
After he hung up, Kinley whistled. «They actually called the police on you? They’re trying to flip the narrative. Make me the criminal.»
«That’s not going to work. The evidence is too clear.»
My phone buzzed with another text from Sasha. «The police are involved now because of your psycho revenge plot. You’ve destroyed our entire family. I hope you’re happy.»
I showed Kinley the message. «She still doesn’t get it.»
«She never will. In her mind, she’s always the victim. Maya, are you ready for what comes next? This is about to get very public and very ugly.»
I looked out at the Singapore skyline, thinking about the family I’d once loved, the sister I’d once protected, the parents I’d once respected. «Let it get ugly. They made their choice when they decided to steal from me. And if they end up in jail, then they’ll have plenty of time to think about what they did.»
My phone rang again. This time I didn’t even look at who was calling.
«They can keep calling. I’m done being their safety net.»
«Maya?»
«Yeah?»
«For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.»
«Thanks. But right or wrong, there’s no going back now.»
The phone kept ringing. I turned it off completely. Some bridges are meant to burn.
The ambush came at 2 a.m. Singapore time. My hotel phone rang, jolting me awake. The caller ID showed an international number I didn’t recognize.
«Hello?»
«Maya. Thank God.» Dad’s voice was hoarse, desperate. «We’ve been trying to reach you for days.»
«I know.»
«We need to talk, all of us, as a family. Put me on speaker.»
I heard shuffling, then Mom’s voice, thick with tears. «Maya, sweetheart, please come home. We can work this out.»
«Can we? Because last I checked, you committed fraud.»
«Don’t say that word,» Dad snapped.
«We’re family. Families don’t commit fraud against each other. Families don’t steal each other’s homes either.»
Sasha’s voice cut through, shrill and furious. «You ruined my life! My wedding is destroyed, Xander won’t even look at me, and everyone thinks we’re criminals!»
«You are criminals.»
«We needed the money, Maya! You have so much, and you never share it with us!»
«I’ve been sharing it with you for four years. $2,800 a month for your mortgage, plus credit cards, car payments, and your college loans.»
«That was you?» Mom’s voice was barely a whisper.
«Meridian Holdings. My company. I’ve been keeping you afloat while you treated me like an ATM.»
«Why didn’t you tell us?» Dad asked.
«Because I knew you’d take it for granted. Just like you took everything else.»
«Maya, please,» Mom begged. «We’re going to lose the house. The bank is starting foreclosure proceedings.»
«Good.»
«How can you say that?» Sasha screamed. «This is our family home!»
«The family home you were willing to sacrifice my apartment for.»
«That’s different.»
«How is it different, Sasha?»
«Because… because you don’t even live there! You’re always traveling for work!»
«So that gave you the right to steal it?»
«We weren’t stealing! We were using family resources for a family celebration!»
«By forging my signature.»
«Maya,» Dad’s voice was pleading now. «We made a mistake. A big mistake. But we can fix this. You can stop the foreclosure. Help us pay back the vendors.»
«No.»
«What do you mean no?»
«I mean no. I’m not fixing this. I’m not paying for Sasha’s wedding. I’m not saving your house. I’m done.»
«You can’t be serious,» Mom said.
«I’ve never been more serious in my life.»
«Maya, please.» Sasha’s voice cracked. «I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry we sold your apartment. But you can buy another one. You can’t replace my wedding day.»
«Watch me not care.»
«You’re being cruel.»
«I’m being honest. For the first time in years, I’m being completely honest with all of you.»
«What’s that supposed to mean?» Dad asked.
«It means I’m tired of pretending we’re a loving family when you only love what I can do for you. I’m tired of being the responsible one while you treat me like a bank. I’m tired of watching you spoil Sasha while taking everything I give you for granted.»
«That’s not true,» Mom protested.
«Isn’t it? When’s the last time any of you called me just to see how I was doing? When’s the last time you asked about my life, my work, my happiness?»
Silence.
«When’s the last time you thanked me for anything? For the money? For the support? For always being there when you needed me?»
More silence.
«You can’t answer because it never happened. I was never your daughter. I was your solution to every financial problem.»
«Maya, that’s not fair,» Dad said.
«What’s not fair is selling someone’s home behind their back. What’s not fair is forging legal documents. What’s not fair is spending four years taking anonymous payments and never once wondering if you should be more grateful.»
«We didn’t know they were from you.»
«But you knew someone was helping you. Someone was keeping you from losing everything. And you never once thought maybe you should live within your means instead of relying on charity.»
«It wasn’t charity,» Mom said weakly.
«It was exactly charity. And you repaid it by stealing from me.»
«Maya, please.» Sasha was crying now. «I’ll do anything. I’ll pay you back. I’ll…»
«With what money? You don’t have a job. You’ve never had a job. You’re 27 years old. And you’ve never supported yourself for a single day.»
«That’s not my fault!»
«Whose fault is it?»
«Mom and Dad always said I didn’t need to work because I was going to marry well.»
«And how did that work out for you?»
«Maya, stop,» Dad said. «You’re being unnecessarily cruel.»
«Am I? Or am I finally telling the truth about this family?»
«What truth?» Mom asked.
«That you raised one daughter to be responsible and the other to be a parasite. That you’ve been bleeding me dry for years while convincing yourselves you deserved it. That when I needed you to respect the one thing that was truly mine, you sold it without a second thought.»
«We needed the money for Sasha’s wedding.»
«Sasha needed a wedding she could afford, not a $400,000 fantasy funded by fraud.»
«It wasn’t fraud!» Sasha screamed.
«Then why are the police investigating it?»
«Because you called them!»
«I didn’t call anyone. The bank called them when they discovered forged documents.»
«Maya,» Dad’s voice was broken now. «What do you want from us? What will it take to fix this?»
«Nothing. There’s nothing you can do to fix this, Dad. You can’t unforge my signature. You can’t unsell my apartment. You can’t undo four years of taking me for granted.»
«So that’s it?» Mom asked. «You’re just going to abandon your family?»
«You abandoned me the moment you decided to steal from me.»
«We’re still your family.»
«No, you’re not. Family doesn’t treat each other the way you’ve treated me.»
«Maya, please…»
I hung up. The phone immediately started ringing again. I unplugged it from the wall.
My cell phone buzzed with text after text.
«Maya, please call us back.»
«We’re sorry.»
«Don’t do this to us. You’re destroying our family.»
«Please, Maya. We need you.»
I turned off my phone and sat in the darkness of my hotel room. For the first time in years, the silence felt peaceful. No one was asking me for money. No one was expecting me to fix their problems. No one was taking me for granted.
I was finally free.
Three days later, the dominoes were still falling. I turned my phone back on to find 127 missed calls and 89 voicemails. But it wasn’t just my family blowing up my phone anymore.
Kinley called first thing in the morning, her voice tight with barely contained excitement. «Maya, you need to see the news.»
«What news?»
«Local Channel 7 picked up the story. ‘Family Fraud Scandal Rocks Upscale Wedding Industry.’ They interviewed Destiny and three other vendors who got stiffed. They put it on TV.»
«It gets better. Sasha’s Instagram meltdown got picked up by one of those drama channels on TikTok. The video has 2 million views.»
I pulled up TikTok on my laptop. Sure enough, there was Sasha’s face in the thumbnail, mid-scream, with the caption, «Entitled Bride’s Family Commits Fraud for Dream Wedding.»
«The comments are savage,» Kinley continued. «Everyone’s calling her the poster child for spoiled brat syndrome.»
«What about my parents?»
«Your dad got arrested yesterday.»
I nearly dropped my phone. «What?»
«Disorderly conduct at the bank. Apparently he went in demanding they release the frozen funds and started screaming at the tellers when they explained about the fraud investigation.»
«Jesus. He’s out on bail. But Maya, this is escalating fast. The DA’s office is considering formal charges.»
My laptop chimed with an email from an address I didn’t recognize. The subject line read, «Information you need to see.»
«Kinley, I’m getting weird emails now. From who?»
I opened the message. «Someone named Amara from the bank. She says she has information about my parents’ financial situation that I need to see.»
«The loan officer who contacted you before? Yeah. She’s asking if we can video chat.»
«Do it. Put me on mute but keep me on the line.»
I called Amara’s number. She answered immediately, looking nervous. «Maya, thank you for calling. I probably shouldn’t be doing this. But I felt you deserved to know the full extent of what’s been happening.»
«What do you mean?»
«Your parents have been trying to take out loans using your name and credit for months, even before the apartment sale.»
«That’s identity theft.»
«We flagged it and denied the applications. But they kept trying. Different banks, different loan officers. They’ve been desperate for cash for a long time.»
«How long?»
«Based on what I can see, they’ve been living paycheck-to-paycheck since 2019. Without your anonymous payments, they would have lost the house years ago.»
«They told me dad got a promotion at work.»
«Your father was laid off 18 months ago. He’s been collecting unemployment and doing odd jobs. But it’s nowhere near enough to maintain their lifestyle.»
My stomach dropped. «They’ve been lying about everything.»
«There’s more. Your sister has been running up credit card debt in your mother’s name. Designer clothes, spa treatments, wedding planning expenses. We’re talking about $60,000 in unsecured debt.»
«$60,000. And that’s just what I can see from our bank. There are probably other creditors.»
«Amara, why are you telling me this?»
«Because they’re trying to blame you for their financial problems. They filed a complaint with the police claiming you’ve been financially abusing them, withholding money that rightfully belongs to the family.»
«That’s insane.»
«I know. But they’re desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. I wanted you to have the full picture before you come back to town.»
After she hung up, I unmuted Kinley. «Did you hear all that?»
«Every word. Maya, they’re trying to frame you as the bad guy.»
«Of course they are. But here’s the thing. All this information Amara just gave you? It proves they’ve been committing fraud for months, not just with your apartment.»
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. «This is Xander. Can we talk? There’s something you need to know about Sasha.»
I showed Kinley the message. «Answer it.»
I called Xander back. «Maya, thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you.»
«What’s going on?»
«Sasha’s been calling my parents, trying to get them to pay for the wedding. She told them you’re mentally unstable and that our families need to manage the situation together.»
«She what?»
«She’s claiming you’ve had a psychotic break and that’s why you’re destroying the family. She wants my parents to give her money and help her get you committed for psychiatric evaluation.»
«You’re kidding.»
«I wish I was. My mother called me laughing because it was so ridiculous. But Maya, Sasha actually believes this narrative. She’s convinced herself that you’re the villain and she’s the victim.»
«What did your parents say?»
«They told her to lose their number. My family’s been dealing with grifters for generations. We know the signs. I’m sorry you got dragged into this.»
«Don’t be. I’m grateful I found out what kind of family I was marrying into before it was too late.»
«Xander, can I ask you something?»
«Sure.»
«Did Sasha ever mention that I was supporting my parents financially?»
«Never. She always talked about how selfish you were, how you made all this money but never shared it with the family. She said you were jealous of her relationship with your parents.»
«She had no idea I was paying their bills.»
«None. Maya, I think your sister is genuinely delusional. She’s created this fantasy where she’s the perfect daughter and you’re the evil sister who ruins everything out of spite.»
