Ah. The classic "I'm poor so I'm entitled, you're rich so you owe me" logic.
My voice went cold as steel.
"Uncle Oliver, even blood brothers settle their accounts."
"This was a loan, not a gift. If that's your attitude, I'll have to pursue this through legal channels."
"I have the transfer records. I have the chat logs. The court will decide."
The moment I said "court," he exploded.
"Hailey! You ungrateful little—! You'd sue your own cousin?!"
"Have you no conscience? Your Aunt Vivien held you when you were a baby!"
"You'd drag family into court over this? You file that lawsuit, and I swear I'll show up at your office with a banner!"
"I'll let the whole world see how the great Director Finch treats her poor relatives!"
His shouting was so loud it hurt my ears.
This was my dear uncle.
To dodge a debt, there was no tactic too low for him to stoop to.
"You don't need to threaten me, Uncle."
"I have nothing to hide—my conscience is clear."
"Since that's how you want to play it, there's nothing left to discuss. Wait for the summons."
I hung up.
Whatever lingering attachment I'd felt toward family loyalty evaporated completely.
Grandpa had seen right through them all along. That's why he'd left that will.
If not for that fifty thousand dollars serving as a test, I might have been foolish enough to hand over four houses to them without a second thought.
Four houses at current market prices—worth at least four million.
They couldn't even bring themselves to repay fifty thousand. How would they react when they realized they'd lost four million?
Shortly after I hung up, my phone rang again.
The word "Dad" glowed on the screen, and my stomach dropped.
Uncle hadn't wasted any time running to him.
My father had always been honest to a fault, the kind of man who valued family above everything else. To him, keeping the peace was more important than being right.
That was exactly why I'd kept all of this from him.
I answered, and sure enough, his anxious voice came through immediately.
"Hailey, what's going on between you and your uncle?"
"He just called me, crying his eyes out, saying you're trying to drive Jarvis to his death."
"He says now that you've got money, you don't want anything to do with your poor relatives—and that you're even taking them to court."
"What happened? It's just a loan. How did it blow up like this?"
His anxious, faintly accusing tone made me feel so tired.