I looked back down at my screen.

“That’s also why I provided the car. The SUV parked outside. Charlotte begged me through tears, saying it was necessary for her parents-in-law’s hospital visits and grocery trips. So, I covered the loan myself. And now you use that very car to break into my home and call me a parasite. What a perfect joke.

This loan payment, canceled. Tomorrow morning, I’ll instruct the finance company to repossess it again.”

The merciless electronic sound rang out.

“No, that car. It’s Charlotte’s.”

Liam tried to say something, but the words got caught in his throat. His father could only stare at me in stunned silence.

After completing every operation, I turned off the phone screen. Then, for the first time, I met my sister’s frozen eyes head on.

What I saw there wasn’t anger. It was pure fear.

“The moment you called me a parasite, I made my decision. The total I’ve given you over the years easily exceeds $50,000, but from now on, I won’t spend another cent on you.”

Charlotte’s lips quivered as if she wanted to speak, but no words came. Her arrogance was gone, replaced only by the cold terror of facing the reality that awaited her.

Her husband, Liam, simply stared at the floor in silence. Liam’s parents and siblings hurriedly gathered their belongings as if trying to flee from a disaster.

They no longer made any attempt to defend Charlotte and Liam. From their slumped shoulders and hurried movements, it was clear they only wanted to escape this nightmare as quickly as possible.

One of the officers gently tapped the shoulders of Charlotte and Liam, who still stood frozen in place.

“Come on, you two. The snow’s getting heavier outside. If you don’t move soon, the road will freeze over.”

The other officer turned a stern gaze toward Liam.

“I don’t know how you all got here, but I assume someone’s driving back down that snowy road. Is anyone sober? Because if every one of you’s been drinking, you’ll be spending tonight in jail for drunk driving instead of trespassing.”

At that, Liam’s father awkwardly raised his hand.

“I, I haven’t had anything to drink. I’ll take responsibility for driving everyone home safely.”

The officer eyed him skeptically for a moment, then nodded. “Good. Then get moving.”

At those words, Charlotte suddenly lurched forward, clinging to one last desperate hope, and tried to rush toward me.

“Natalie, please think this through. It’s Christmas. You can’t just throw us out into the blizzard like this. Please.”

Before she could reach me, the officer caught her by the arm and stopped her.

“That’s enough, ma’am. If you cause any more trouble, we’ll have to take you in for obstruction of justice.”

That final warning broke her completely.

Charlotte nearly collapsed, but Liam caught her just in time, holding her trembling body upright.

They picked up their coats and bags from the wreckage of the party, the spilled drinks, torn decorations, and scattered plates, and with their heads bowed like convicts, slowly made their way toward the door.

Just before it closed, Charlotte turned around and glared at me with eyes full of hatred and pleading all at once.

I met her gaze without a single change in expression.

The heavy thud of the closing door echoed through the room, and at last, silence returned to my mountain lodge.

The officers left after saying, “Sorry for the trouble, ma’am. Call us if anything else happens.”

I stood alone in the middle of the ruined living room. Only the fireplace continued to flicker softly as if nothing had happened.

Through the window, I watched the red and blue lights fade into the distance and exhaled a long, heavy breath.

As the adrenaline drained away, my whole body began to feel heavy, like lead. I sank deep into the sofa and closed my eyes.

Just a few hours ago, I had been looking forward to a peaceful Christmas holiday here. And now, that felt like a memory from another lifetime.

The coffee table before me was littered with the remnants of their chaos: dirty plates, half-empty glasses, and the pitiful bones of a picked-apart turkey.

I picked up one of the glasses, the luxury brand one Charlotte had been using. It was the same glass I had given her for her birthday.

As I stared at the faint red stain of wine left inside it, memories began to flood my mind.

When our parents passed away within a few short years of each other, I was in my early 30s, struggling to build my career.

Charlotte, still a student at the time, had lost the people she depended on most and became emotionally unstable.

Seeing her like that, I told her, “From now on, I’ll be your family.”

That promise eventually became a heavy chain around my neck.

Even after graduating from college, Charlotte refused to find steady work.

“I wasn’t born to sit in an office. I meant to live a more creative life.”

That was her constant refrain.

After she married Liam, her attitude didn’t change. Liam worked in sales, but his performance was poor, and his income alone couldn’t support Charlotte’s spending habits.