Chapter 7 - The Cousin's Remorse
Mark and Tyler stood in the hallway, taking off their snow-covered boots. Ben stepped out of the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest, his presence formidable.
“Ben. Claire,” Mark began, swallowing hard. “I want to say this clearly: I did not know Brooke took that video. I did not know she had a plan to snatch the chair. When she told Tyler to take the chair at Mom’s house, she told him it was a secret game of tag to cheer Lily up. She completely manipulated him.”
“Tyler,” I said gently, looking down at my thirteen-year-old nephew. “Is that what she told you?”
Tyler looked up, his face red and blotchy from crying. “Aunt Claire, Mom told me Lily was already healed and that she was playing a prank on Grandma. She told me that if I pulled the chair away, Lily would jump up, laugh, and surprise everyone, and then Grandma would give us money for hockey camp. I didn't know Lily was still hurt! When she fell onto the couch... when she said her legs hurt... I felt sick inside.”
Tyler took a step toward the living room, where Lily was sitting on the carpet playing with a watercolor set Grandma had brought over.
“Lily?” Tyler called out timidly.
Lily looked up from her painting. Her eyes were cautious, but not hateful. “Hi, Tyler.”
Tyler walked slowly into the living room and dropped to his knees right beside her on the carpet. “Lily, I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. I shouldn't have touched your chair. I shouldn't have listened to my mom. Your chair is part of your body right now, and I took it away from you. I will never, ever do that again as long as I live.”
Lily looked at her cousin for a long moment. She reached out with her small hand, still stained with green watercolor paint, and touched Tyler’s shoulder.
“It hurt my feelings, Tyler,” Lily said softly. “Because it took me three weeks of crying just to stand up for five seconds. It wasn't a game.”
“I know,” Tyler sobbed openly now, burying his face in his hands. “I’m sorry. I hate what my mom did.”
Mark stepped into the room, his eyes brimming with tears. “Claire, I’ve moved out. Tyler and I are staying at my brother’s house across town. I’ve already retained a divorce lawyer. Brooke has an obsession with status and wealth that has completely destroyed our family, and I refuse to let Tyler grow up thinking that cruelty is acceptable. I will do whatever the court asks of me. If you need me to testify against Brooke in the financial elder abuse case, I will take the stand without hesitation.”
I looked at Mark, then at Ben, and finally at Tyler, who was now sitting beside Lily, quietly helping her mix paints on the palette.
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“You did the right thing by bringing him here, Mark,” I said. “Tyler doesn't carry his mother’s sins. But Brooke will answer for every single thing she did.”
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