Russian Roulette: Family secrets [2021 version]

Ch. 2: No, not a fucking cent

The annoying buzzing from an incoming phone call brought Mackenzie back to reality. Lost in her thoughts, she had sat there for however long. Gareth was ever-present and invaded her mind all the time, making her lose track of time.

Though the terms were many; thought, daydreaming, or fantasizing. They all revolved around Gareth.

Gareth fucking Tempest! Why had he walked back into her life? It would drive her crazy knowing he was there somewhere in the city. At first, she had tried to convince herself it had been an alcohol-induced nightmare. Her slightly bruised ass cheeks inconsiderably reminded her it indeed had been real.

She sighed and tapped the green icon on her phone. "Mom?"

"Mackenzie, dear." Patricia's voice sounded relieved, probably because Mackenzie had answered her call, which usually meant money coming her way.

"Are you ok, mom?"

"I'm not sure anymore. Everything is so hard. I can't keep my head above water long enough to think straight."

If it was not because she was her mom, Mackenzie would probably have lost her cool and yelled out a few truths, but the broken tone in her mother's voice always got to her. "Mom..." She sighed. "Why don't you leave him? You can't be blind to the fact that he's no longer the man you married."

"I can't, Mackenzie. You don't understand. I just can't."

Patricia was right. Mackenzie did not understand. She did not understand how her mother loved Marco enough to let him drag her down, how she loved him enough to drain her only child financially. Loved him enough to one day make Mackenzie choose between herself and her mother. Because the day would come.

She would never understand that kind of love or obsession. On the other hand, maybe she just did not understand love.

Having only been in love once in her life and not experienced it reciprocated, love was an illusion. She could only imagine how it felt. "You're right. I don't understand."

"I wish I could explain it to you, there's more to it," Patricia pleaded for Mackenzie to understand and not ask any more questions.

Rubbing her temples to avoid a stress headache, Mackenzie knew which battles to fight and which to drop. "Can you just be honest with me? You owe me at least that."

"Honest about what?"

Typical of her mom to deflect before answering. Typical of Patricia to hope Mackenzie was not as stubborn as her father. Mackenzie was a lot like her father. Her looks she had from her mother, but her stubborn disposition, the fierceness and intelligence, she had from her father. She also had his temper, though that might be considered a disadvantage.

"How much money are we talking about? For it all to go away?"

The silence from her mother felt deafening, which meant the number was far worse than Mackenzie had imagined. She had figured it was bad, but how bad could it be? 

As the silence continued, fear gripped her. Like a cold hand, it clenched her heart. If it was that bad, she could not help, no matter what she did. Taking out a loan was a possibility, but it would be of no use if Marco continued to rack up his debt. The regular money transfers to her mother already stretched Mackenzie's financials to the breaking point. So much so that Mackenzie lived on the bare minimum. A loan did not seem like the best solution.

"Tell me, mom!"

"1.2 million Euros, I think. Maybe a few hundred thousand more," Patricia finally admitted, her voice laced with shame.