My Holiday Bonus Was a $5 Million IOU! I Quit and Their Company Collapsed novel · Chapter 7 of 24

Chapter 7: Christmas Eve

My mother set the table for ten, and a pen lay across my plate.

I knew it was a trap before I sat down.

Her sister was there, and her sister's husband, and two cousins, and the pastor from her church.

Luther sat at the far end in a borrowed sweater with his jaw set.

Brynn sat beside my empty chair and squeezed my hand under the tablecloth.

Hattie was parked outside in her station wagon with the engine running, because I'd asked her to be.

In my bag I had eight folded pages, one for every plate but mine.

"Before we eat," my mother said, rising with her glass, "let's give thanks."

Everyone bowed their heads.

"For family, and forgiveness, and for the strength to be patient with someone we love who has been very ill."

I raised my head.

She was looking at me with wet, gentle eyes.

"Our Mara has been through a hard year," she said. "An operation. A great deal of pain. She says things that she doesn't mean, and she's done things she can't take back."

"Connie," her sister said softly. "What things?"

"We'll talk about it after dinner. The pen is for her. A signature on one page, and this whole family can start fresh."

The pastor nodded gravely.

Nobody looked at me.

I stood up.

"I'm not signing anything," I said. "But I brought something for each of you."

I took the pages out of my bag.

I walked around the table and set one in front of every plate but mine, my aunt's first.

"What's this?" my uncle said.

"A letter from the company's bank," I said. "Read the second line."

He put on his glasses.

I watched him read it, and I watched his mouth go flat.

"Five million dollars?" he said. "Due January thirty-first?"

"Connie," my aunt said. "You told us the company was healthy."

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