“We have cameras,” I said. “You know that. They recorded every person who came into the house. Every car. We can pull the footage. We can find the people who were there. We can call the police. We can talk to a lawyer. This doesn’t have to stay a family drama.”
“You’re really going to let her threaten me like this?”
She stared at me, then turned to Dave like he was her lifeline.
“You’re really going to let her threaten me like this?” she said. “You’re my brother.”
He didn’t move.
“You put my kids’ safety at risk,” he said quietly. “You lied to us. You sold our house for a night. Why exactly should we protect you?”
Tears spilled over.
“I didn’t think it would be such a big deal,” she sobbed. “I needed the money. I’m drowning.”
“You’re never setting foot in our house again.”
“You could have asked,” I said. “You could have been honest. Instead you went behind our backs.”
Dave exhaled.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “You’re never setting foot in our house again. Ever. You will hire professional cleaners. Not a friend. Not you. An actual company. You’ll pay for all the damage. If we find anything missing, you’ll pay for that too.”
“And if I don’t?” she asked, glaring through her tears.
“Then we move forward with the lawsuit,” I said. “And involve the police if we need to.”
“Those are the terms.”
She started bargaining. Saying we were ruining her life. Saying we’d regret this.
I was done.
“Those are the terms. Take them or leave them.”
She took them.
Two days later, a cleaning crew showed up at our door with industrial supplies and serious faces.
One of them glanced around and said, “Rough party?”
They worked for hours.
“You have no idea,” I said.
They worked for hours. Scrubbed the sticky floors. Steam-cleaned the couch. Vacuumed up glass. Disinfected everything.
Mandy paid the bill. She also paid for a new lamp for Max, new cushions, and a few other damaged things we found.
We never learned how much she made from renting out our house. She refused to say.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth what she lost.
We didn’t actually file the lawsuit. We talked about it. We even asked a lawyer friend some questions.
No one lets her house-sit now.
In the end, we just needed her to understand how serious this was. To feel consequences for once.
Now the whole family knows, because we stopped covering for her.
When someone asks why she doesn’t have our spare key anymore, we tell them.
When someone asks why she wasn’t invited to watch the kids or house-sit, we tell them.
No one lets her house-sit now. People lock up their valuables when she comes over. My mother-in-law keeps her key in a safe.
Mandy has sent a few “sorry you were upset” texts. She tries to make jokes about “that one crazy Christmas.”
She will never be alone in our house again.
I don’t joke back.
We’re polite in group settings, but that’s where it ends. She will never be alone in our house again.
The house is clean now. The kids feel safe again. We changed the door code, installed better locks, and added more camera coverage.
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