Chapter 6 - The Severing of Threads
Daniel opened the envelope with trembling fingers. Inside were several legal documents, meticulously drafted over the two hours I had spent awake before dawn.
"Item one," I stated calmly, enumerating the points on my fingers. "The lease on your downtown apartment. The lease is in my name, and I pay sixty percent of the rent. I have submitted a sixty-day notice to the landlord. As of November first, you and Vanessa are entirely responsible for the rent, or you can find somewhere else to live."
Daniel gasped. "Dad, the rent is four thousand dollars a month! We can't afford that on my salary!"
"Then you should move to a cheaper apartment," I said without a trace of pity. "Item two. The BMW you are driving. It is titled in my name. The keys are on the kitchen counter. You will leave them here today. I will be selling the vehicle next week."
"How am I supposed to get to work?!"
"There is a very efficient public bus system in this city, Daniel. I suggest you download their app." I continued without pausing. "Item three. The position at my logistics firm."
Daniel froze. His face went pale. "Dad... no. Please. Not the job."
"You are currently employed as a regional manager at my company," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "A position you were given despite lacking the required qualifications, because I believed in giving my son a start in life. But a manager must possess character, integrity, and respect for others. You have demonstrated a complete lack of all three."
"You're firing me?"
"I am accepting your resignation," I corrected him. "Effective immediately. You will receive two weeks of severance, which is standard for entry-level departures. Your corporate card has been canceled as of 6:00 AM this morning."
"Dad, you're destroying my life!" Daniel screamed, slamming his hands on the desk as he stood up. "Over a stupid prank?! Over a chair?! We are newly married! We have a honeymoon booked for Hawaii tomorrow!"
"Cancel it," I said flatly. "Or pay for it yourselves. The card you used to book the resort was linked to my business account. I canceled the reservation three hours ago."
"You can't do this to me!" he wept, the composure he had maintained collapsing into full-blown panic. "Vanessa will leave me! Her family will despise me!"
"If Vanessa leaves you because you no longer have access to my bank account, then you will have learned a very valuable lesson about the kind of woman you married," I said. "And if her family despises you, it will only be a fraction of the disgust you should feel for yourself."
He stood there, panting, tears streaming down his face, looking at me as if I were a stranger.
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"You're a monster," he whispered.
"No, Daniel," I said softly, rising from my chair. "For twenty-eight years, I was a father who enabled a brat. Today, I am a father who is finally doing his job."
