Counterfeit Family

I asked her if she was joking. Her frown told me she wasn’t. “Every last penny, gone” she said, “And that’s not the worst of it,” she continued, leaning across the table, “he took the documents too.” The news took me by surprise, “What? We need those!” She looked at me, irritated, “You think I don’t know that? Ever since mom gave me those files, I’ve been diligent to keep them hidden where only I know,” She relaxed a bit, “I just don’t know how he did it; I mean, mom always said Uncle Harvey is a clever and sneaky man, so I was extra conscientious whenever he came around.” I sat across from her, sad and disappointed. “Ash, we’ve been over this: he’s not our real uncle, especially now since he cleaned us out.” She looked into the distance for a beat, then sighed, “You’re technically right, but not in the way you think,” I looked at her more confused than before as she continued, “You want to know why he drained the account? Payback. He was playing the long game for you being born. Unc- Harvey never wanted kids, so this was his way of getting back at our family.” I sat looking at her, dumbfounded, “Alright, sis, what’re you getting at here?” She drew in a deep breath and finally looked me in the eye, “You and I are only half-siblings.”

Thankfully I was sitting already because I definitely would’ve fainted. I contemplated for a long time, trying to make sense of it all. She continued on, “Have you ever seen him in any family pictures before you came along? Do you notice how different mom is when he’s around? He’s not trying to be a family man or a supportive baby-daddy, he’s keeping mom under his thumb. He’s really laying into the phrase ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’”

“So how do we get mom’s will back?” She sat silently, looking at the ground. “Now what is it?” I asked. She continued avoiding eye-contact while relaying more news, “That’s also a lie.” “What?” “Those ‘files’ are actually love letters from when Harvey and mom hooked up. The second half of the files are threats from Harvey about what he’d do to mom if she ever told anyone that they got together, let alone a child was born from it. I guess he thought she'd have told someone by now and still went through with his promise, or at least the beginnings of it.” “How long ago did mom tell you?” “Oh she never said a word. Curiosity bested me one day and I had to see for myself what I was guarding. I guess I was just as taken aback as mom was because I had no idea what to do with that information or what step to take next. I eventually confronted her about it and she told me more than I could’ve imagined.”

I stood up and paced the kitchen, I couldn’t keep still at this point. I thought out loud, “Does dad know?” She whispered, “Yes,” I stared at her wide-eyed, “but Harvey doesn’t know that dad knows, or else we would’ve been derailed a long time ago.” My anger got the best of me and I raised my voice, “So why didn’t anyone tell me? The bastard? Why am I the last to know?!”

Ash returned the energy I put out, “Because she’s ashamed that you were born from such a dead-beat screw up! Okay? She’s ashamed that her one night of cheating brought a lifetime of threats and control!” Her voice lowered, “Mom wanted to make sure you had no feelings of being out of place or that you weren’t truly part of this family. Dad’s a good man and would never let a despicable person like Harvey come between any of us, not even him and mom.”

I kept my mouth closed for a while. “Jake, talk to me.” “I know what step to take next: get in the car.” “For what?” I stood and made my way to get the keys, “He may have taken our money, but he didn’t take the 40 in my trunk.” I could see she was conflicted for a moment, but finally said, “You’re absolutely right, let’s go get our hands dirty.”