Chapter 5 - The Battle For The Perkins Family Home
The next morning, Isaac woke before sunrise.
For years, he had started his days by checking business reports, answering emails, and preparing for meetings.
But this morning was different.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the old ceiling above him.
The water stains.
The cracks.
The damaged wood.
This was the house his parents had lived in while he believed they were safe.
He sat up slowly.
The anger inside him was still there.
But it was no longer the kind of anger that made him want revenge.
It was the kind that made him want justice.
Isaac walked into the kitchen and found Teresa preparing breakfast.
She moved slowly, carefully.
Like someone who had spent years trying not to waste anything.
Even now, after everything had been revealed, she was still measuring every piece of bread.
Still saving every drop of milk.
Isaac watched her for a moment.
“Mom.”
She turned.
“You’re awake.”
He smiled slightly.
“I’ve been awake for a while.”
Teresa placed a plate on the table.
“You should eat.”
Isaac sat down.
The same kitchen.
The same old table.
The same woman who had packed his lunch every morning when he was a child.
But everything felt different now.
“Mom.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her expression changed.
She knew what he meant.
The cold nights.
The missing medicine.
The damaged house.
The struggle.
“We thought you were already carrying enough.”
Isaac frowned.
“Because Liam told you I was failing.”
She looked down.
“We believed him.”
The honesty hurt.
But Isaac appreciated it.
His parents had never been dishonest people.
Not even when the truth made them look vulnerable.
“We were afraid,” Teresa continued.
“Afraid of what?”
“That if we called you and asked for help, you would feel like we were another problem.”
Isaac felt a deep sadness.
“Mom, you were never a problem.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You were always our child.”
She smiled faintly.
“But children grow up.”
Isaac shook his head.
“Parents don’t stop being parents.”
Before Teresa could answer, Samuel entered the kitchen.
He looked tired, but stronger than yesterday.
Maybe because the truth had finally removed the invisible weight he had carried for years.
“Daniel called.”
Isaac looked up.
His lawyer.
“What did he say?”
Samuel sat down carefully.
“He found something.”
Isaac immediately became alert.
“What?”
“Bank records.”
A silence filled the room.
Teresa looked nervous.
“What did he find?”
Isaac took his phone and checked the message from Daniel.
Several documents had been sent.
The first page showed years of transfers.
Money entering the account.
Money leaving the account.
Isaac scrolled.
Then stopped.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Samuel asked.
Isaac looked at the numbers.
“Most of the money didn’t go to household expenses.”
Teresa’s face became pale.
“Where did it go?”
Isaac kept reading.
“Personal accounts.”
“Whose?”
Isaac didn’t answer immediately.
Because he already knew.
“Liam’s.”
The room became silent.
Not shocked silence.
Painful silence.
Samuel closed his eyes.
“I defended him.”
Isaac looked at his father.
“Dad…”
“I defended him every time someone said he was irresponsible.”
His voice cracked.
“I told people he had a good heart.”
Teresa reached for his hand.
“Samuel…”
But her own hands were shaking.
Isaac looked back at the records.
There were withdrawals.
Large purchases.
Luxury expenses.
Travel payments.
Credit card bills.
Money that was supposed to keep his parents healthy and comfortable had funded someone else’s lifestyle.
Then Isaac saw something else.
A company name.
He zoomed in.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“This isn’t only personal spending.”
Daniel had highlighted several transactions.
A business account.
Isaac studied the information carefully.
Liam had not only taken the money.
He had used part of it to support another business.
A failing business.
One that had collapsed months earlier.
Isaac leaned back.
“So that’s why.”
Samuel looked confused.
“Why?”
“Why he kept lying.”
Isaac stared at the documents.
“Because once the money stopped coming, everything would fall apart.”
His brother had not just stolen money.
He had built his entire life around a lie.
A lie that required more lies to survive.
That afternoon, Isaac met Liam outside a small café near the neighborhood.
He chose a public place.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he wanted the conversation to be impossible to twist later.
Liam arrived ten minutes late.
He looked different.
No confident smile.
No cheerful attitude.
Just exhaustion.
He sat across from Isaac.
“So.”
Isaac placed a folder on the table.
“Daniel found the records.”
Liam’s face tightened.
“You hired a lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“You’re really doing this?”
Isaac stared at him.
“Doing what?”
“Destroying your own family.”
The accusation was so unbelievable that Isaac almost couldn’t respond.
“You stole from our parents.”
“I was fixing a problem.”
“You created the problem.”
Liam looked away.
“I was going to pay it back.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
Isaac shook his head.
“You said that ten years ago.”
Liam became quiet.
Isaac opened the folder.
“You used their money to pay your debts.”
Silence.
“You bought things you couldn’t afford.”
Silence.
“You kept them in that house while pretending everything was fine.”
Liam finally looked up.
“You think I don’t feel guilty?”
Isaac didn’t answer.
Because he wasn’t sure.
Maybe Liam did feel guilty.
Maybe every lie had become heavier over time.
But guilt without responsibility meant nothing.
“Then why didn’t you stop?”
Liam’s eyes became emotional.
“I didn’t know how.”
Isaac stared at him.
That answer sounded more honest than anything Liam had said before.
“I thought I could fix it.”
Liam rubbed his face.
“Then another problem happened. Then another.”
He laughed bitterly.
“And suddenly ten years passed.”
Isaac looked at his brother.
“You let Mom and Dad believe I abandoned them.”
Liam closed his eyes.
“I know.”
That was the first time he admitted it.
No excuses.
No anger.
Just two words.
I know.
Isaac felt no satisfaction.
Only sadness.
Because this was still his brother.
A person he had grown up with.
A person who used to share a bedroom with him.
A person who had once protected him from bullies.
“What happened to you?”
Liam looked down.
“I got tired of being the one nobody noticed.”
Isaac was silent.
“I watched you become everything Dad wanted.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“I know.”
Liam looked up.
“But I hated how easy it looked.”
Isaac shook his head.
“It wasn’t easy.”
“No.”
Liam smiled sadly.
“It just looked that way.”
For a moment, both brothers sat quietly.
The anger between them was still there.
But beneath it was something older.
A history.
A family.
A bond that had been damaged but not completely destroyed.
Then Isaac placed one final document on the table.
Liam looked at it.
“What is that?”
“A copy of the foreclosure notice.”
Liam’s face changed.
Isaac watched him carefully.
“Did you know about this?”
Liam hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Isaac’s expression hardened.
“You knew.”
Liam whispered:
“I was trying to handle it.”
Isaac stood slowly.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“You were trying to hide it.”
Liam looked at him.
“What are you going to do?”
Isaac picked up the folder.
“I’m going to save my parents’ home.”
“And me?”
Isaac paused.
That question surprised him.
For the first time, Liam didn’t sound arrogant.
He sounded like a scared child.
Isaac looked at him.
“I don’t know yet.”
Then he walked away.
That evening, Isaac returned to the farmhouse.
The house was still damaged.
The walls were still cracked.
The problems were still there.
But something had changed.
His parents were no longer alone.
Isaac stood outside, looking at the place where he had spent his childhood.
He knew repairing the house would be easier than repairing the family.
Money could fix a roof.
Money could replace windows.
Money could pay debts.
But trust?
Trust had to be earned again.
And as Isaac looked at the old farmhouse, he realized the battle was only beginning.
Because saving the home was one thing.
Finding out the full truth about what Liam had done was another.
And there was still one unanswered question.
Why had Liam gone to such extreme lengths to hide everything?
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The answer was buried somewhere in the years of missing records.
And Isaac was determined to uncover it.
