My mom’s funeral had barely ended when Aunt Vanessa showed up at our doorstep. She declared that she was willing to step into my mom’s shoes. My dad, clearly moved by the gesture, was ready to add her name to the house deed. At that moment, I realized one thing—when emotions are involved, money is bound to get hurt. Aunt Vanessa’s intentions were clear as day. Aunt Vanessa is thirty-eight, though she looks like she’s barely twenty-eight. She’s still attractive, her smile always bright and warm. She’s been divorced four times, and each time, it was because she cheated. Grandma Ruby spent most of her life worrying about her, even going as far as consulting a fortune teller for answers. The fortune teller said Aunt Vanessa had a “curse of love,” a fate tangled with endless romantic entanglements. I never thought she would bring that curse to our family. Just days after my mom’s funeral, she came to our house, professing her love to my dad. She told him she was willing to be my mom’s “replacement,” taking care of both him and me. And my dad agreed. I couldn’t believe it. I had a full-on argument with him about it. He sighed, suddenly looking much older than he had before. “Savannah, your dad’s getting old. You’re off at college most of the time. I just want someone by my side.” I wasn’t against him finding someone new, but he wanted to marry Aunt Vanessa, my mom’s sister! “Dad, you know what Aunt Vanessa is like. You can’t be serious!” Was he trying to set himself up to be cheated on? He looked at me, torn, almost pleading. “She promised me she’s changed. And Savannah, she’s your aunt. We’re family.” At that moment, I realized that no matter what I said, my dad had already made up his mind. Sure enough, that very night, Aunt Vanessa moved in, bringing her daughter Ivy, my cousin who had just started junior high. Aunt Vanessa was a great cook, but I couldn’t stomach a single bite of the meal she prepared. At dinner, she kept piling food onto my plate, saying, “Savannah, tell me what you like, and I’ll cook it for you every day.” I gave a cold smile, stood up, and said, “I’m packing my things. I’m leaving for school tomorrow.” Out of sight, out of mind. As I shut the door, I overheard Ivy’s voice: “Mom, why are we living at Savannah’s house?” Aunt Vanessa’s response was chilling. “Ivy, this is our home now. Call him ‘Daddy.’” Ivy, in her sweet, innocent voice, said, “Daddy,” and my dad responded with a big smile, saying, “Good girl, good girl.” And just like that, they became their own little family. After that, I only messaged my dad occasionally. It seemed like life with Aunt Vanessa was going just fine. For winter break, I had lined up an internship and wasn’t planning on going home. But after an entire semester without seeing my dad, I missed him and decided to go back for a couple of days. When I arrived and opened my bedroom door, I was shocked to see Ivy on my bed, eating potato chips. She looked equally surprised when she saw me and scrambled to sit up, spilling chips all over the sheets. I’m a neat freak. I don’t allow anyone to eat in my room. So how could I tolerate someone else doing it? I marched over, my voice stern as I said, “Who told you to come in here? From now on, don’t ever enter my room without my permission.” Ivy didn’t move, sitting on the bed as if nothing happened. “Savannah, this is my room now.” I took a moment to look around and realized that my room had been completely transformed. Wow. It had only been a semester, and my room was gone.
I hadn’t told my dad I was coming back because I wanted to surprise him. Instead, he ended up surprising me. Ivy told me that he and Aunt Vanessa had gone out to buy groceries, so I sat on the couch, waiting. Sure enough, they returned soon, laughing and chatting like they didn’t have a care in the world. My dad’s smile faded slightly when he saw me. He furrowed his brow. “Savannah, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say you were working?” That disappointment I had been holding in all semester just spilled out. “What happened to my room?” Aunt Vanessa glanced at my dad but stayed quiet, clearly leaving it to him to explain. He looked uncomfortable, then tried to explain. “Savannah, you’re hardly ever home now. I let your sister use the room.” We have three bedrooms—one for the master, one for guests, and a small room in the attic. I pointed upstairs, looking directly at Aunt Vanessa. “Move Ivy’s things up there. She’s not allowed in my room anymore.” Aunt Vanessa put on her usual tearful act. “Savannah, Ivy’s your sister. How can you treat her like this?” I never liked Aunt Vanessa, and her playing the victim only irritated me further. I wasn’t about to give her any leeway. “What did I do? I didn’t kick her out, but now you’ve taken over my room, and you’re acting like I’m the one at fault.” Aunt Vanessa looked down, sniffling. My dad, of course, felt sorry for her. His temper flared, and he barked at me, “Savannah Blake, is that how you talk to your elders? Apologize to your aunt!” I was furious. I stormed into the room and started throwing Ivy’s things out. Aunt Vanessa and Ivy screamed from the hallway, and my dad rushed in, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me out. It was the first time my dad had ever laid a hand on me, and he did it for them—for outsiders. “Savannah, this is my house! I’ll decide who lives here. What’s gotten into you? Is this how I raised you?” I yanked my arm free. “This is your house, but it’s also mine. Half of it belonged to Mom, and now that she’s gone, that half is mine. So how dare you give my room to someone else?” Ivy suddenly chimed in, “It’s my mom’s house now too!” My heart sank as I stared at my dad in disbelief. He looked away, clearly ashamed. “I’ve already added your aunt’s name to the deed.” I looked at Aunt Vanessa and finally understood. Of course. She wasn’t interested in my dad—she was after our house. But so what? “Well, half of this house is still mine. You only own a quarter, so get your daughter’s stuff out of my room!” Aunt Vanessa clung to my dad, refusing to move. I was furious and stormed back into the room, continuing to throw Ivy’s things out. Ivy ran in to stop me, and I shoved her aside. Aunt Vanessa started wailing from outside the door, “What are you doing? How can you hit your sister?” Ivy, quick as ever, immediately sat on the floor and started crying. I hadn’t even touched her, and she was already playing the victim. My dad stormed in, grabbed me, and slapped me across the face. He actually hit me. I felt a wave of sadness and anger wash over me. I blinked back tears and nodded, saying, “Fine. I get it. From now on, you’re your own little family.” And with that, I grabbed my suitcase and left.
I dragged my suitcase to Grandma Ruby’s house. I told her and Grandpa Howard everything that had happened, hoping they would speak some sense into Aunt Vanessa. But Grandma Ruby said, “Savannah, your aunt and your dad are a family now. It’s only natural for her to want her share. Besides, Vanessa has had a hard life. She’s finally settled down; you should cut her some slack.” I was speechless. Grandma Ruby had always favored Aunt Vanessa because she was her “baby.” She had spoiled her to the point of turning her into the woman she was today. And even now, she was defending her. Grandma asked if I wanted her to cook something for me, but I just picked up my suitcase and left. With nowhere else to go, I headed to Uncle Martin’s house. When he heard about the chaos at home, his temper flared. “That idiot! I told him to keep an eye on that deed, and what does he do? He goes and puts that woman’s name on it.” Uncle Martin was ready to march over and confront my dad, but Ethan, my cousin, stopped him. “Her name’s already on the deed. What’s the point in fighting now?” Then Ethan turned to me and said, “Just stay here for now. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. The Blake family isn’t dead yet.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I started crying. Aunt Jolene came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands. “Alright, that’s enough. Savannah, you must be exhausted after the trip. Come over and have something warm to eat.” I wiped my tears and joined them for dinner. Uncle Martin’s family treated me better than my own dad. After dinner, Aunt Jolene told me to rest, but I was too angry to sleep. Uncle Martin noticed and called me over. “Savannah, do you know how much money your family has?” I nodded. “Yes. Mom told me everything before she passed. She knew Dad was soft and wouldn’t be able to stand his ground.” We lived in a small but wealthy town, ranked as one of the top places to live in the country. My mom had owned a storefront near our neighborhood, which she bought along with our house. It was in her name, but she transferred it to me before she passed. There was also our house and a plot of land near the edge of town, waiting to be developed. My dad worked at Chesterville General Hospital, earning a good salary of over $5,000 a month. Between that and my mom’s business, they had saved quite a bit—about $200,000, all in my mom’s name. I had the savings account in my possession now. After my mom passed, I rented out the storefront to a nail salon, collecting $3,000 a year in rent. When I finished explaining all of this, Uncle Martin nodded. “Well, it’s a good thing your mom had foresight. Otherwise, your aunt would have bled your family dry. Now, about that quarter of the house—what do you want to do?”
There was no way I was going to let Aunt Vanessa take our family’s things. The house had to come back. “But her name’s already on the deed. Can we even get it back?” Ethan sat down beside me, giving my shoulder a reassuring pat. “If you want it back, I’ll help you find a lawyer.” Seeing the determination in his eyes gave me confidence. I did some research online, and it seemed like even if she hadn’t paid for the house, there was a chance she could claim half. The legalities were complicated, and there were different opinions depending on when her name was added. The key was to get more information from my dad. So the next morning, I called him, asking him to meet me at Uncle Martin’s house. I waited all day, but he never showed. When I called again, he said Aunt Vanessa wasn’t feeling well, so he couldn’t come. I wasn’t convinced she was really sick. I packed up my things and headed home. This winter break, I might skip my internship, but I wasn’t going to skip taking back the house. When I arrived, they were in the middle of dinner—eating a huge spread of food. My dad stood up, placing a plate of food in front of Ivy. The sight made me furious. When he noticed me, he smiled and said, “Savannah, you’re back! Come on, have some hotpot.” I looked at him coldly. “Dad, this is my house. Do you think of me as a guest now?” His smile faltered. Aunt Vanessa came over, trying to smooth things over. “Come on, Savannah. We’re family. Who’s treating you like a guest?” Dad quickly fetched another plate and utensils for me, even adding some beef to my bowl in an attempt to make peace. I took a bite of the beef and turned to Aunt Vanessa. “Aunt Vanessa, Dad said you were sick. What’s wrong?” She looked healthy enough to me. She smiled, waving it off. “Just a little headache. It’s nothing. I took some medicine, and I’m fine now. Savannah, eat more. Have some meat.” I said nothing more. After dinner, I was planning to have a serious talk with my dad, but Aunt Vanessa and Ivy approached me. “Ivy, apologize to your sister.” Ivy even gave me a little bow. “Savannah, I’m sorry for taking your room. I shouldn’t have done that. Please forgive me.” Aunt Vanessa chimed in with her own apology. “I’m really sorry, Savannah. It’s just that you said you wouldn’t be coming home, so your dad gave the room to Ivy. She struggles to climb up to the attic, and she’s still young. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her up there alone. Now that you’re back, the room is yours again.” My dad nodded in agreement. “Yes, Aunt Vanessa already apologized. She didn’t mean to cause trouble. After dinner, let’s go to Uncle Martin’s and get your things.” I was surprised by how quickly they had changed their tune, especially those two.
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