Chapter 10
Chapter 10: The Golden Boy’s Return
The next morning, the fallout became concrete. I was preparing breakfast for Anna when a taxi pulled up outside our house. A lone figure climbed out of the backseat, dragging two massive black garbage bags and a heavy duffel bag up the driveway.
It was Carter. The Ivy League styling, the arrogant posture, the smug smile—all gone. He looked exhausted, wearing a wrinkled hoodie, his eyes red-rimmed from what I assumed was a sleepless night of packing away his short-lived dreams. He didn't ring the doorbell; instead, he sat down on the bottom step of my porch, burying his head in his hands.
I opened the door. "Carter?"
He jumped, looking up at me with a mixture of anger and humiliation. "Are you happy now, Aunt Claire? I’m out. They kicked me out. The bursar literally had campus security escort me out of the dorms because my mom’s check bounced. My roommates watched me pack my life into trash bags."
"I’m sorry you had to go through that embarrassment, Carter," I said honestly. "But your mother and your grandparents stole seventy thousand dollars from Anna to put you there. Did you know that?"
Carter looked away, shifting uncomfortably on the concrete. "They said it was an investment. They said Anna didn't need it right away because she wasn't going to an Ivy. They said it was for the family."
"It was theft," I replied firmly. "And now they have to face the consequences. You cannot build a future on a foundation of stolen money."
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He didn't yell. The fight had been entirely drained out of him. "I don't even have a place to go," he muttered. "Mom's house is a war zone. She’s screaming at the bank on the phone, and Papa is packing up his office before the auditors show up. Can I just... stay on your couch for a few days?"
I looked at my nephew, seeing the victim of his parents' toxic enablement, but I also remembered the smug look on his face at the Friday dinner party when he bragged about his future. "No, Carter. You can't stay here. But I will pay for a hotel room for you for exactly two nights. After that, you need to find a job. Your artist career starts today."
