The total amount due within 90 days: $428,000.
The panic calls started within the hour.
First Chelsea.
“Albert, what the hell is this?! This has to be a mistake!”
Then Logan.
“Dad, please call me back. We need to talk. This can’t be real.”
I let the calls go to voicemail.
Later that evening, Logan showed up at my new apartment unannounced. He looked like he hadn’t slept.
“Dad, you can’t do this to us,” he said, voice cracking. “We’re family.”
I invited him in and offered him coffee — the same calm way I used to serve dinner in his house.
“Family,” I said quietly, “does not treat its elders like unwanted furniture. Family does not hide someone in a back room while celebrating with friends. You made your choice that night, son. Now I’m making mine.”
Tears welled in his eyes. “Chelsea didn’t mean it like that. We were stressed.”
I slid a folder across the table containing years of bank statements, payment records, and the original agreements they had signed when they needed my help.
“You have ninety days,” I said. “After that, the attorney will proceed with legal action.”
---
**The Aftermath**
The next few months were difficult for them.
