Chapter 4

How could there be a woman as insane as Brandy? She was over forty and had spent twenty years pretending she was a baby.

I thought about how Jason had enabled her… Most of the blame lay with him.

Raymond flooded me with texts all night. I didn't answer any of them.

His last text came at three in the morning.

[I now know that my family isn't normal, but I can't leave her yet. Give me some time.]

I read it five times, then locked my phone.

-

At eight the next morning, pounding on my front door woke me up.

"Open the door, thief! Open the door for Dee Dee!"

Brandy's voice pierced the door, and her pounding triggered every sound-activated light in the building. I rubbed my eyes, got up, and looked through the peephole.

She stood there with her head raised, fierce and determined.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

As soon as she saw me, she charged inside and smacked me in the face with a stack of papers.

"You stole company documents! My husband asked Dee Dee to keep those secrets safe! You're a corporate spy!"

The pages scattered across the floor. Several nearly cut my eyes.

I looked down. These weren't secrets; they were ordinary copies of meeting minutes without even the company's official stamp.

"Are you done?" I asked calmly.

"Dee Dee isn't making a fuss!" she shrieked, stomping her feet. "You're a thief! Dee Dee will call the police and have you arrested!"

"Then call them."

I spoke quietly, but she stopped as if she was choked.

Instead, I took out my phone and called the police in front of her. "Hello. Someone is falsely accusing me of stealing confidential business documents. Please send an officer..."

She lunged for my phone. I simply stepped back, and she fell across the doorway.

That was when Jason and Raymond arrived just then. They were both wearing suits and had rushed over from the office. Their faces were equally grim.

Jason saw the papers scattered across the floor and his wife lying there crying, his head throbbing. He roared for the first time in a long time. "What are you up to now?!"

Brandy scrambled up and threw herself at him. "She stole things! Look, honey! She scattered the company secrets everywhere!"

Raymond walked forward and picked up the papers. His expression darkened as he flipped through them. "Mom, these are just the minutes from last week's meeting. They aren't even classified."

"If Dee Dee says they're company secrets, then they're company secrets!" Brandy screamed.

"Stop talking!" For the first time, Raymond shouted at his mother. "She's our business partner! Why would she need anything from you? The entire project is a partnership with her family's company. How could she steal documents for a project her own company is part of? Besides, you accused her of stealing these papers, but you're the one who brought them here."

Brandy shrank back. Her lips trembled, and tears still clung to her face.

I stepped away from the doorway, bent down, and picked up the remaining papers one by one. After stacking them neatly, I spoke.

"Maybe you're the one who stole company secrets."

Brandy raised her head up suddenly and glared at me. She lunged at me again, but Jason managed to catch her wrist.

His face went from red with anger to pale. He stared at the woman who had spent twenty years crying, and his voice came out hoarse.

"Make one more scene, and I'll divorce you. Raymond will cut ties with you, too."