THIRD PARTY“There is a mail from Mr. Gray!” Dylan ran down the staircase, holding his laptop.“A mail?” Denzel got up from the couch.“What does it say?” Dixon asked.Diamond’s eyes widened with curiosity as she struggled to make sense of the news. She ran to Dylan and grabbed his hand excitedly.“Does the mail talk too? Is it a talking toy?” she asked.But when none of the boys responded—too focused on the laptop—Diamond burst into tears.“I want the mail! It’s my toy!” she cried.Miranda walked in from the kitchen and quickly tried to console her.“They won’t let me have it, Miranda! They don’t need a toy,” she sobbed.“A mail isn’t a toy, Diamond,” Miranda explained calmly.Diamond gave Miranda a confused look, as if she suspected Miranda was lying just so the boys could keep it. From their excitement, she was convinced that the mail was something very special—and she wanted it too.“I should have the mail, not them. It’s from my daddy,” she cried louder.Miranda knelt beside her
JAMESKristie sat on the couch, glued to her phone all day. I had tried to ignore her and do everything myself, but I couldn’t anymore. I wasn’t sure how long this would last—I had to speak up.Anyway, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure what words to use—she might take it the wrong way. So instead, I started making noise as I cleaned, intentionally letting a few items tumble, hoping to catch her attention. But she didn’t move.When I couldn’t keep it in anymore, I turned to her. “You know, you could actually do something more productive if you put that phone down for a second.”She rolled her eyes and continued scrolling.“I’m talking to you, Kristie. All you do is remain fixated on that phone. It doesn’t get things done around here,” I repeated, louder this time.“Get out, James. Don’t take your frustration out on me,” she hissed, still not looking at me.I was pissed. “That’s not it, Kristie. You’ve done practically nothing since we moved in. You don’t attend to Shantel, you don’t care abou
KRISTIEMy heart raced as I awaited Mom’s response. Why wouldn’t she want us in the house, especially now that we had nowhere to go? Why was she turning her back on us now?“Are you there, Kristie?” her voice came, hesitant.“Speak, Mommy,” I replied calmly.“Oh honey, I was going to call you too,” she cried.Tears?What right does she have to cry?She was part of this. No, she was the mastermind. Her insatiable greed led us to doom, and now she couldn’t just turn her back on us. She had no right to try to emotionally blackmail me.“Kristie,” she called again.I remained silent. She cannot continue to trick me, not this time again. I will go to the house, and she can't stop me.I turned to James. “Get a moving van, James. We’ll go to Whalelane Quarters.”“No, you can't, Kristie,” Mom exclaimed, then quietly asked, “Why do you need a moving van?”I sighed. “I can't keep waiting, Mom.”“Oh, Kristie dear,” she sobbed. “We’ve just been evicted from the house and were hoping to stay with y
KRISTIEI waited, my heart euphoric. Oscar Gray thought he was strong, but I knew exactly how to get him. Next time, he wouldn’t dare underestimate me.James appeared from inside the house and came to me. He was holding Shantel, who was already asleep in his arms.“Go in and check if there’s anything you need inside, Kristie. We’ve already gotten what we think is important outside. There isn’t enough time to bring out everything,” he said.Furious, I bellowed at James. He was the cause of all this after all and so deserved no pity from me.“Go away, loser. I already called Mr. Gray, and by the time this is over, I will throw you out of the house to the gutters where you belong. You’ve always been an impostor from the start.”“Kristie,” Oscar’s voice came. “I don’t have all day.”“Oh, Oscar. This is what I pass through daily. Sorry you had to witness that,” I spoke coquettishly.I turned to Oliver. “And what are you waiting for, Oliver? Come over here and do as your boss says,” I order
JAMES“Alright, aunty, thank you,” Kristie said with a wry smile, her tears suddenly dried up.I hissed. “Is that it?” I asked her, my irritation apparent.She had called Lady Sheila Belmont, hoping she would come to her rescue. I had heard about them—how Sheila was trying to get Monsieur King to approve of her for Oscar.However, I never took the rumor seriously. Not that I didn’t believe it, but because I thought I understood the reason behind Kristie’s actions—or I only thought I did.She was trying to get us out of this dire situation, but with the way things were playing out, I doubted if that was her sole motive. Surely, there was more than met the eye in this situation.“I will get our things now,” I said to Oliver.Kristie could continue fooling herself, holding on to the strange belief that some knight in shining armor would appear out of the blue. This was the end of the road. Lady Sheila Belmont wouldn’t do anything to save her. I would get our things and take my daughter o
KRISTIEFilled with rage, I pushed the servant aside and made my way out through the door to get the intruders off my property.“Mommy, are they going to throw us out?” Shantel followed behind, her voice carrying a hint of fear.“They are intruders, Princess, and have no right to be here,” I assured her.Reaching outside, I saw the men who had brought the bulldozers, and as one of them approached me, Shantel hid behind me, frightened.I pulled Shantel closer. “You are scaring my little girl. What right do you have to be here?” I snapped.“Good day, ma’am,” he greeted. “I am Oliver from—”I cut him off. “Leave my property now, or I’ll get the authorities,” I threatened.He handed a paper to me, which I flung away without looking at the content.“You have less than an hour to vacate, ma’am. We won’t be too lenient once your time is up,” he told me.“Vacate!” I scoffed. “You’re the ones to be thrown into prison once the police get here.”He gazed at the paper I had thrown away. “That’s a