"No, you may not. There are too many valuables lying around, and I don't trust you anymore."
"Mom!" Tyler reared back, slapping his palm over his chest, his eyes wounded. "How could you say something like that! How could you think I'd steal from you?"
"Because you have before," she said crisply. "The, uh, exotic dancer you brought home a few weeks ago was caught trying to fence a few items that had gone missing while I was away. She confessed everything and played a recording for the police, in which you showed her what to take and offered to split the proceeds. I decided cutting you off was preferable to pressing charges."
I kept my mouth shut through sheer force of will. How could Tyler have been so stupid? Tyler caught the slight shake of my head and turned on me.
"Don't you shake your fucking head at me," he shouted, stabbing a pointed finger my way before swinging his eyes back to our mother. "Do you know he's trying to steal my wife? You're pissed I was screwing a stripper, but your own son is fucking my wife and you don't even care."
I waited for an interrogation from my mother, but her eyes never left Tyler. Her face drooping in a frown, she shook her head, her voice heavy with pity. "Tyler, I'm deeply disappointed that you chose to betray your marriage vows with Parker. I'm aware that it happened many times, most of them well before she finally left you."
"But Nash–"
"Nash is not your business," she said, her words unyielding. "Parker is no longer your business. I don't care what you think is going on with either of them. The only person you need to worry about is me."
"Mom," he wailed, "you can't do this to me! Is it because Parker left me? She's going to come back. I'll get her back, I promise. I'll never cheat on her again and everything will be like it was."
Our mother shook her head, the motion weary, her patience gone. "I don't want to find out that you've been bothering Parker. She's moving on. You need to let her go."
Tyler spun, snatching a shepherdess figurine off a side table and flinging it into the fireplace. It erupted in a fountain of porcelain shards that fell to the carpet, too far from my mother to do any damage. Lucky for Tyler. If he'd hurt her, I would have abandoned my restraint and beaten the shit out of him.
"I'll never let Parker go. She's not allowed to leave me!"
For the first time, alarm flashed across my mother's face. "Tyler! Stop this!"
Tyler turned to her, his chest heaving, eyes wild. "She's not allowed to leave me," he repeated, rage and desperation warring in his voice.
"She already has," my mother said, back to weary. "And if you agree to give her a divorce, I'm still willing to pay for your attorney. If you sign the papers today, I'll write you a check for five million dollars."
"Five million!" Tyler threw his hands in the air and stamped a foot. "Five million is nothing!"
What was he? A toddler? Then I remembered who I was dealing with. I knew toddlers more mature than Tyler.
"Five million is far from nothing," Claudia tossed back. "And that offer only stands until you walk out of this room." She gestured to an envelope sitting beside her. "Sign now and I'll hand you the check. If you walk out of here without signing, the offer disappears."
He tilted closer, as if already reaching for the check. Abruptly, he reared back, shoving both hands in his pockets and falling into a sullen slouch. "Just like Dad," he muttered. "Trying to use money to get me to do what you want. Well, I won't fall for it. I still have Grandmother's trust. I don't have to let you control me!"
"This is your last chance, Tyler," Claudia warned, picking up the cell phone I hadn't noticed tucked beside her. "Until you're a parent, you'll never understand how much it hurts me to do this, but it's for your own good." She held out the envelope. "Just sign the papers. Let me give you the five million and you can get a good start on a new life. Please."
Tyler shot forward, snatching the envelope from her hand. I was on my feet in an instant, shielding my mother. My brother took a swing at me, one I easily blocked. Before I could hit him back, two hulking dark-suited men entered the room, headed straight for Tyler.
"I'm so sorry it came to this," Claudia said, her voice shaking with adrenaline and heartbreak. "Security will escort you from the building. Let me know where you settle and I'll make arrangements to have your things sent. You won't be allowed back into the house in the Hamptons, or any other family property. I've arranged for security, so I don't suggest you try anything. Do you understand?"
Tyler grunted in response, more concerned with getting free of the security guards than listening to my mother. We watched in silence as he was dragged from the room. At the thunk of the front door closing, quiet filled the penthouse.
"Well, that went well," Claudia said in a shaky voice, smoothing her skirt over her knees. "Don't you think?" She turned watery eyes my way. I risked the settee collapsing and moved to sit beside her, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"Why are you sorry?" she wept into my shoulder. "You've been a wonderful son. You tried to tell me and I wouldn't listen. Your father tried to tell me. I thought Tyler just needed to grow up. And then I found out he hit Parker and I just couldn't–"
"Did she tell you that?" I asked.
"No, Parker would never tell me something like that. I hired a private detective. I had to know what he was up to. They talked to his women, who shared far too much. Apparently, Tyler likes to talk. I know about him raising his hand to Parker, how often he was cheating on her, that he likes cocaine and gambling. I know far more than I wanted, but I had to know everything before I made my decision."
I held her as she cried quietly. Finally, she whispered into my shoulder, "It was the right thing to do. I should have let your father do it years ago, but I hoped he'd grow up." She let out a long sigh before sitting up and dabbing the tears from her face. Standing, she walked to the door and pressed a button on the wall panel. "We'd like fresh tea in the drawing room."
Sitting back on the settee, she turned to face me, a resolute smile on her face. "I do appreciate you being here. I couldn't face him by myself. And we have business. I have papers for you to sign."
