CHAPTER 89: WOUNDS THAT CAN BE HEALED
"Suzanne, watch your tongue!" Harriet snapped, escalating the tension.
"Why not keep quiet when the adults are talking, Harriet, and stop butting in where you're not wanted?" Suzanne retorted, turning to Cassandra, her voice sharp and laced with tension.
"Cassandra, I thought better of you than to befriend this daughter of Jezebel just to get closer to my grandson. Now, I'm truly ashamed of you."
"Suzanne!" Jacquelin shouted. "Brother, you have to control your mother-in-law, or I'll do something nasty," Jacquelin threatened. "How dare she call me a Jezebel? She had better keep my name out of her damn mouth!."
"Grandma," Cassandra started.
"Enough!" Suzanne held up her hand, silencing her.
"Suzanne, you're crossing the line here. Enough, I say, otherwise—" Harold said threateningly.
"Otherwise, Harold, you'll chase me out just like you did my grandson thirteen years ago? I couldn't fight you then because my daughter always held me back. But now, if you dare touch him, I will raise hell, and I'm leaving this godforsaken house today and i hope y'all rot in it. I've had enough of you hypocrites," she said, pointing at his sisters.
"I hope you all get what's coming to you. I know you helped push my daughter to her death; hell is coming for all of you."
"Suzanne, watch your mouth this instant and don't spout rubbish," Harold roared. "Alice was my wife, and I loved her just as much. Don't you dare accuse me of killing her. It's your precious grandson here who should take that fall, not me and my family members."
"Family members, huh?" James said from behind his grandmother and laughed snidely. "Wow, Harold, your antics at making me a castout son keeps getting better with age."
"You are one to talk," Harold sneered. "Get out right this instant, all of you!" He yelled pointing to the door, his face flushed with anger.
"Enough!" Diana, her voice surprisingly steady, cut through the chaos. "This madness ends now."
Silence descended. All eyes turned to Diana, surprised by her sudden authority.
"Dad, you know, I came here today with the notion of making you like me. James never wanted to be here, but I convinced him to bring me here because I genuinely wanted to be part of this family."
Harold interrupted, desperate to regain control. "I don't have a problem with you, Diana."
"Oh really?" Diana asked, her smile devoid of warmth. "You just said 'get out, you lot'. Was that referring to just Suzanne and James?"
A tense silence followed.
Diana continued, her voice laced with quiet strength when she didn't get a response. She smiled. "You know, there is this popular saying: people fear what they can't control. You have tried to control this son of yours all his life, using dirty tricks and manipulative tactics, and when you couldn't control him, you discarded him. That's because you're a control freak. Your own son cut ties with you because you treated his brother like trash. But control is a flimsy foundation for a family. It breeds resentment, not love".
"Your wife always had issues with you until her death, and now Suzanne has the same problems with you. You claim to care about your wife and son who've left you, and you say James took them from you, but have you ever considered that you may have pushed them away unknowingly?"
"You allowed the people around you to corrupt your mind against your real family. A man who always wants to control everything can easily be manipulated by others if there's a small slip-up in their attitude."
Diana picked up the register from the floor, a symbol of the connection she'd hoped for and pen. With a resolute hand, She opened it and canceled her name from the register.
James took it from her and canceled his grandmother's and Jared's names before Harold snatched it from them.
James, a flicker of sadness in his eyes, thought sadly, 'His name was never there to start with. He had hoped that the least his father could do after all these years of torturing him was to make him feel like part of a family'.
"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" Harold demanded.
Diana, undeterred, continued. "Dad," she addressed Harold directly, "I will always respect you as the person who took in my husband when no one else would, but you can't say you don't have a problem with me and hate the man who brought me into your home. We will be leaving now. There's no need for more pronouncements of who should stay or go."
"Diana, hold on. Let me go pick a few things," Suzanne squeezed her hand as she spoke.
"No need, Grandma," James said, holding her hand.
"I understand, James, but I still have a few important things to pick up," Suzanne said as she quickly hurried upstairs.
As Suzanne left, Diana looked at her father-in-law. "Dad, I hope it's not too late before you realize how mistaken you were. I already liked you as my father-in-law once I saw you and was ready to change because of you, despite all I heard about you. But now I see it's not worth the effort".