Victor’s family held their breath for a moment, hoping Claire was just speaking out of anger. But, James’s response crashed all hope.
"Claire," James said with a drawl, "why must you make things sound so ugly? There are business interests involved here, you cannot blame us for taking precautions."
Claire blinked. "Precautions! Is that what you are calling theft? Your family wants to hold on to my research work, my recipes, my business ideas and my connections while leaving me penniless."
"What? They can’t do that!" Archer bellowed, eyes digging into his uncle Alden, and his cousins. "Uncle is this true?"
"Oh, it’s true." Claire beat Alden to the answer. "Three months ago, when I developed a recipe for golden citrus herb shrimp, Cordy made me sign a non-compete as a joke. Or so he claimed. It has an NDA, and severely limits my job mobility and bargaining power in every city where Alden and Heimi has a restaurant. I can’t use my own recipes to make money after I leave. See, they were already making preparations for this day. So much for trusting your family. Even dogs are more loyal to their masters than you lot."
James settled into a chair and crossed one leg over the other. He spoke to Claire, using that tone he used on anyone he had no interest in interacting with. "Claire, there is no need to make things ugly between us. At the end of the day, we are still family. You are making this fuss just because you want to stay in our family. It’s fine, you can stay. It’s not like we can’t afford to feed and clothe you."
He said it so casually, with such certainty and this was one of the reasons why Claire was angry.
Ritah exploded in shock and anger. "What? James, what are you talking about? How can she stay here? Then what about me? She stole my life! She lived like a princess while I lived on a budget and wore cheap clothes. She had a driver that drove her to school, while I rode the bus or walked! That bitch has lived off our family long enough. If you want her, I am leaving. Can’t you see how much she hates me? How can she stand living under the same roof as me? I am scared of her." Her voice became weaker towards the end, and fresh tears spilled from her eyes. "Cousin, can’t you just let me have my family?"
Claire tilted her head. "Well....I don’t have the energy to hate you. I have no interest in living with you either or holding on to your family. I already made this clear."
"You can’t live next door, either." Ritah blurted quickly.
That declaration created an uncomfortable silence in the house. The house next door was owned by Alden, but two years ago, a week after Ritah moved here, Alden had invited Victor and his family to move into that house.
Now, everyone was leaping to their own conclusions after Ritah’s declaration.
Alden cleared his throat awkwardly, giving his brother Victor the best apologetic look he could afford to fake. "Elder brother, I am sorry. I am sure that you understand my difficulties. Ritah is my daughter, and she is very sensitive about her status in the family right now. She doesn’t want to live far from us after getting married. We have agreed to let her and Andrew move into that house after you move out."
Victor tilted his head back slightly, laughing softly. "You begged us to move in, because Ritah wanted us near. Now, you are kicking us out because we have outrun our usefulness!" He righted his head and glared at his brother, roaring in anger. "Is my life and that of my family a joke to you?"
The room erupted in chaos, as Victor lunged at Alden and pummeled him with fists that were comparable to iron in that moment. Alden staggered back, clutching at his chest.
"Vic, hear me out." Alden begged.
Victor struck him across the jaw. "You hid the identity of my daughter for two years while bonding with yours!" He shoved Alden backwards until his younger brother’s back hit the wall. "You used my daughter to fill your pockets and now, you are throwing her out after taking everything that is hers! Have you no shame?"
Alden tried to explain, words tumbling out between blows, but his voice was drowned by the crack of knuckles on flesh.
Their wives screamed, rushing forward to pull at arms and shoulders. Their sons split up, each group helping their father. The Bens were grabbing and shoving the two bodyguards hired by Alden to protect his family.
Claire took that chance to locate her three suitcases, which were lined up against the wall, near the doorway. She opened them, searching through the contents of 27 years of life. In the end, the many years amounted to a few clothes, shoes, three bags, her book collection, certificates and awards and one pair of earrings she had inherited from her great grandmother. They were practically antiques, worth twenty dollars at most.
She took a deep breath and closed the last suitcase. When she looked back, the fight seemed to be over. Each man was standing by their wife, heaving or wincing. The fire in their eyes had not died out.
For a moment, it seemed like the fight was over, but then, Donna hissed and jumped at Heimi. She grabbed Heimi’s hair, screaming and cussing.
Donna’s sons gasped.
Ritah tried to intervene, crying out "mom," over and over while attempting to shove Donna away from Heimi. Donna let go of Heimi and slapped Ritah on the cheek.
The sharp sound astounded everyone in the room. Donna’s great love for Ritah was widely known. She would sell her kidney to give Ritah the world, if she could. They never thought that someday, they would witness her laying a hand on the daughter she loved more than her sons. A daughter she had always called her life.
Ritah stood still, tears spilling from her eyes, while Heimi examined the red cheek.
"How could you do this?" Heimi cried out, as if she was in pain too. "I am calling the police."
"Great, call them right now." Claire chimed in. "All of my jewelry is missing, and I want it back. Anything that was given to me as a gift from your family, I have no plans to keep. But what I paid for with my money, I want back. So, which one of you light fingered deaf bats likes to take things that don’t belong to them?"
Every eye in the room somehow found Ritah!