Cut Out, Cashed In

Grandma pressed a hand to her chest, her finger trembling as she pointed at me.

"Get on your knees! Apologize to your Aunt Sandra! Do you think she has it easy, making money? You're going to be the death of her!"

I looked at Aunt Sandra's face—that smug, wronged-party expression she'd perfected—and felt nothing but contempt.

"I stole money? Aunt Sandra, you want to put the books on the table and go through them together? I pulled an all-nighter on International Women's Day and sold $5 million worth of product. $400,000 in commission, and you handed me $500. And I'm the thief?"

Mum froze, her face going pale. "How much? $400,000?"

Aunt Sandra's eyes darted around the room. She raised her voice, covering for herself. "What $400,000! That was gross revenue! After costs, labor, venue fees, and promotions, there was barely anything left! Lexi, since when do you lie to your elders?"

I pulled out my phone, brought up the settlement screenshot from the backend, and held it right in her face.

"This is the settlement statement. Net profit, in black and white. Want me to put it on speaker and call platform support to verify?"

Aunt Sandra lunged to her feet and grabbed for my phone. "You little brat, who do you think you are!"

I stepped back, my eyes sharp. "Who do I think I am? You used my money for a down payment and a car. Where's the house? Where's the car parked? Take Grandma to see them. Let her see what a great son she raised."

Grandma went still and looked at Aunt Sandra. "Sandra, where did that money come from?"

Sandra stuttered, sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Mum, that… that was money I'd saved up."

I pressed forward, not letting up. "You were borrowing money from Mum last year just to cover your insurance payments. Now you've suddenly got a six-figure down payment? Did you win the lottery?

"Grandma, she took the money I broke my back to earn and used it to bail Wade out. And now she wants me on my knees apologizing?"

Grandma had always favored Sandra's side of the family, but she wasn't stupid. She looked at Sandra, and her voice turned icy. "Sandra. Is what Lexi saying true? You kept the child's earnings?"

Aunt Sandra could see she had no way out. She dropped all pretense and went full ugly. "So what if it's true! We're family. Why does everything have to be so calculated? Lexi's going to get married and take it all to some other family anyway. I did this for our bloodline!"

Mum shook with fury. She crossed the room and shoved Aunt Sandra back. "Sandra, how can you say something like that? Lexi worked for every cent of that money. What gives you the right to hand it to your son? Get out of my house!"

Sandra planted her hands on her hips, absolutely brazen. "Lynn, I'm telling you, Lexi is coming back to Vivid Stream Media today, and she's selling out the rest of that inventory.

"If she doesn't, I'll take her to court for misappropriation. She'll have a record hanging over her for the rest of her life. Good luck finding a real job after that."

I looked at her and spoke slowly, each word deliberate, my voice completely flat, "Go ahead. File the suit. And bring that eight-percent commission contract with you.

"Let the judge decide whether I owe you money, or whether you owe me back wages and damages."

Aunt Sandra snapped. She grabbed a glass off the table and hurled it at my head. "Go to hell, you little witch!"

Mum yanked me aside. The glass shattered on the floor, shards scattering everywhere.

"Get out! Sandra, get out of my house!" Mum grabbed a broom—the first time I'd ever seen her that fierce—and drove them toward the door.

Aunt Sandra dragged Wade out with her. At the threshold, she turned back and spat on the floor.