When the House Lost Value, She Came for Me

Ten years ago, I bought a wedding house for my younger brother. Who would have thought that ten years later, the housing price would drop by half?

“Emily, the house you bought for us has already dropped to one hundred thousand. You must make up the difference! Otherwise, we’re the ones who’ve lost out!”

“Or you should just sell the house! You can’t let me take the loss all by myself!”

Megan suddenly appeared at my door in the middle of the night, shouting at the top of her lungs, determined not to leave until she got what she wanted.

She even raised her hand, as if she was about to hit me, still thinking I was the pushover I used to be.

I raised my hand and slapped her across the face. Megan fell to the floor and immediately started coughing up blood.

…

“Are you insane? Housing prices fell, and somehow that’s my fault?”

A surge of anger rushed through me.

Since their wedding, neither Daniel nor Megan had ever come to see me. They hadn’t even invited me to the reception. And now, out of nowhere, they showed up demanding money.

Megan, sprawled on the floor, stared at me in disbelief. In her memory, I was still that silent, compliant sister-in-law.

“Emily Harris! How dare you hit me! I don’t care—if you don’t give me the money, I’ll take you to court!”

Was she out of her mind? She could try suing me if she had the guts.

“I don’t care! I already sold the house! Now my family has nowhere to live! Who could’ve known it would drop this much? Did you do it on purpose? Were you just waiting for me to lose money?”

She screamed hysterically.

Selling at the lowest point in the market? And it was a necessary home, too. I wanted to rip her head open and see what was inside—she’d end up destroying herself sooner or later.

I was furious and didn’t want to hear any more of her stupidity. I tried to close the door, but she jammed her leg in the doorway, refusing to let me shut it.

“Help! Somebody help! She’s going to kill me!”

She shouted like a madwoman, waking up the entire apartment complex. My face darkened. What the hell was she trying to do?

Within minutes, people were crowding outside my door.

Seeing Megan pitifully lying there, they immediately turned their fire on me, assuming I owed her money and was refusing to pay. Without asking questions, they began pointing fingers and shouting.

“I knew it! Always buying things left and right—turns out she’s drowning in debt!”

“I can’t stand people like her, deadbeats who think no one can touch them, and now she’s even violent!”

“Exactly! I’ve seen strange men coming to her place all the time—her lifestyle is questionable too.”

Those were delivery guys! How could these people spread rumors without a shred of judgment?

I was seething, but my explanations were drowned out by their accusations. No one cared about what I said; they pinned me straight to the pillar of shame.

Splat!

Someone hurled a rotten egg at my head. The stench spread instantly, making me gag.

“Get out! All of you!”

My last defenses collapsed. I shoved Megan out the door with all my strength and slammed it shut.

Forcing down my fury, I scrubbed the foul smell off my body. By the time I came back out, most of the crowd had dispersed. Megan was gone too.

I hoped that lunatic had given up. I exhaled in relief and was heading to the living room when—bang, bang, bang—the door rattled again.

The pounding was even louder than before, more than one set of fists this time.

I froze and peered through the peephole. Staring back at me was Daniel’s face, with Mom and Dad standing right behind him, their expressions dark and fixed on the door.

Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Emily Harris! Get out here right now!”