I reached for her phone.
The video played. Lauren was screaming while three quiet men hooked her bright red sports car to a tow truck. Mom tried to block the truck with her body. Dad waved papers around, looking frantic.
I leaned forward.
“Those papers… they’re probably the loan documents they signed using my name without permission. I found out yesterday it’s identity theft.”
Helen let out a long whistle.
“That’s not just karma anymore. That’s a crime.”
The buzzer went off again.
Lauren’s voice came through the intercom.
“I know you’re in there. You can’t ignore us forever.”
“Watch me,” I muttered.
But Helen was already walking to the intercom.
“Listen up,” she snapped into the speaker. “Your sister isn’t coming to save you anymore. Try getting a job instead of calling her all day. You’ll need both a paycheck and a lawyer.”
Scott nearly choked on his coffee.
“Wow, Helen.”
“Harsh,” she said, turning back, “but true. By the way, did you file those identity theft charges yet?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
I pulled up the files on my laptop.
I had the documents ready. Proof they used my name to get loans I had never approved.
The buzzer started again, nonstop this time. Mom’s voice joined Lauren’s. Both of them talking over each other, begging.
“That’s it,” Helen said, grabbing her purse. “I’m calling the police. This is harassment.”
“Wait.”
I stood up.
“I’ll handle it.”
I took the elevator down, heart pounding but steps steady. When I reached the lobby, I saw Lauren’s tear-streaked face pressed against the glass, with Mom behind her.
The second I opened the lobby door, Lauren rushed inside.
“Do you even know what you’ve done?” she cried. “The bank froze everything. Dad might get charged with fraud.”
“That’s what happens when people forge loan documents,” I said calmly.
“We didn’t forge anything,” Mom said quickly. “We just used your name as a guarantor.”
“You always helped us before,” Lauren added.
Always helped.
Something snapped inside me.
“You mean like when I was fourteen and waking up at four in the morning to tutor you because Mom couldn’t? Or when I worked two jobs in college while you dropped out of three schools using my money?”
“That’s not fair,” Lauren said, stepping closer. “You’re just jealous.”
“Jealous of what?”
I cut her off.
“That Mom and Dad love you more? They can keep that love. I’m done paying for it.”
Mom grabbed my hand.
“Please. We can fix this. Just tell the bank it was all a mistake.”
I pulled my hand away.
“Like when I was eleven and you took my birthday money from Grandma to pay for Lauren’s dance lessons? Or last Christmas when Dad borrowed my credit card so she could go on spring break?”
“That was different,” Mom said.
“No. Those were practice runs. You’ve been testing my limits my whole life, seeing how much I’d give before I finally broke. Well, you did it. I’m done.”
Lauren’s face fell.
