Chapter 6

"Cody, just listen to your grandmother. Sign the papers, agree to the donation, and apologize to her properly. We'll clear the air as a family, and she won't actually post the video."

I let out a dry laugh. "Go ahead and post it. I don't care."

Grandma had thought she had me cornered. She had not expected that answer, and her eyes went wide.

I almost smiled. "You're saying that video is enough to ruin the rest of my life? Well, if my life is ruined either way, I might as well hang on to both kidneys."

People online were not that easy to fool. As long as I explained that the issue was a kidney donation, most reasonable people would understand. Besides, even if public opinion did turn against me, so what?

No matter how bad things got, it could not be worse than living with one kidney. As long as I still had my health, there was a limit to how far I could fall.

None of them had expected me to respond that way. For a moment, they just stared.

Then, the front door opened. Dad was home. He picked up on the tension in the room immediately. "Cody, come here. What did they say to you?"

I told him everything, start to finish, from the kneeling to the video to the threat.

Dad lost it. He pointed straight at Mom's face and tore into her.

"Lorraine, you've really outdone yourself. Your mother is scheming for her son, and that's disgusting enough, but at least she has a reason. You don't even treat your own child's life like it matters.

"You love your mother and your brother that much? Then let's get this divorce done. Pack your things and get out. Anyone who'd sell out her own son doesn't deserve to be called a mother and doesn't deserve to live in this house."

Mom's lips parted when she heard the word 'divorce', and she was about to say something.

Grandma slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Divorce? Fine. Who are you trying to scare?"

She shot Mom a look. "Are you really going to let your husband push you around like this?"

Mom pressed her lips together, glanced at Dad, and said nothing.

Grandma snorted in disgust. "Pathetic. You don't even wear the pants in your own home. You let him threaten you with a divorce while you just sit there. If I'd known you'd turn out this useless, I would've left you on the doorstep. I'm this old, and I still have to grovel to my son-in-law because of you. What good are you?"

That pushed Mom over the edge. Cornered and humiliated, she snapped, "Fine. Divorce it is. I'm not scared of you."

Dad almost laughed. "Good. We'll go file the papers tomorrow. In the meantime, get your things together and get out."

Mom choked on her response, but before she could recover, Grandma was already yelling, "Even if you're divorcing, why should my daughter be the one to leave? You should be the one moving out."

Dad smiled thinly. "Why should she leave? Because this house was purchased during our marriage, and your daughter took our marital assets and funneled them to your family. Legally, that's unauthorized disposal of joint property. The amount she transferred already exceeds half the value of this house.

"If we really want to settle accounts, your daughter will owe me money after the divorce. So you can either walk out of here on your own, or I can fill the neighbors in on your family's deeds and then you walk out. Your call."

Grandma cared about her reputation more than anything. She was out the door before Dad could say another word.

Mom hurried after her.

Once every uninvited guest had left, Dad let out a long breath. "Cody, the divorce is happening. There's no getting around it now.

"Before, I still thought your mom was a decent person. Even if she went overboard trying to please her family, I figured at least she was your mother. I thought she genuinely loved you, and I was willing to put up with a lot for that.

"But after today, I see things more clearly. She has never grown up. She's still her mother's child before she's your parent. A mom like that is worse than no mom at all.

"And don't take what your grandma said to heart. You're in your senior year. Focus on school. I'll handle everything else."

A weight lifted off my shoulders. I pulled out my phone. "Don't worry about me, Dad. I'll be fine. Look at this."