My Stepmom’s Black Card

My dad remarried a beautiful young woman, and I was the only one who knew she was secretly loaded. At dinner, I sat with my head down, peeling shrimp for her and carefully removing every last vein. My aunts sat nearby, snacking on sunflower seeds and watching me with open contempt. “Emily, your stepmother’s only been here two months, and you’re already her little maid?” “Your dad paid for those shrimp. You haven’t eaten a single one. They’re all going into her bowl.” My cousin chimed in with a sneer. “Exactly. A stepmother will always be a stepmother. Would your real mom ever make you peel shrimp for her?” “Pretty soon, there won’t be any room left for you in this family.” I said nothing. I just kept passing over the peeled shrimp. My stepmother took one look and frowned, her voice full of distaste. “Cheap farm-raised shrimp? They taste like mud. How am I supposed to eat these?” Everyone gasped. She casually pulled a black card from her purse and tossed it to me. “Go buy me an Australian lobster. Keep whatever’s left as spending money.” Every aunt in the room locked her eyes on that black card. The room fell silent for a full three seconds. I slipped the card into my pocket so fast I could barely contain my grin, then stood to leave. “On it.” Someone grabbed my wrist. Aunt Linda’s nails nearly dug into my skin. “Emily!” Her voice shot up an octave. “You just do whatever she tells you? Have you got no self-respect?” “Exactly.” Aunt Diane slapped her sunflower seeds onto the table and lifted her chin. “Your father spent all those years raising you so you could become someone’s maid?” “Peeling shrimp and even removing the veins. Unbelievable.” My cousin Chloe Bennett finally recovered enough to add a snide comment. “Emily, with service skills like that, you could be the top attendant at a foot spa.” My dad sat there without a word. That was just who he was. He’d been a pushover his whole life. Someone could scream insults right in his face, and he wouldn’t know how to answer. I pried Aunt Linda’s fingers off my wrist one by one, smiling the whole time. “Are you jealous, Linda?” She froze. “Jealous of what?” “The card.” I patted my pocket. “You and Mark have worked your whole lives. Ever even seen one of these?” “You!” Her face turned bright red. “Emily! Is that any way to speak to your elders?” Aunt Diane stood, pointing so close her finger nearly touched my nose. “Your mother died young, and your father spoiled you rotten. Now you think you can do whatever you want?” “What’s so great about some stupid card?” Chloe scoffed. “Who knows if there’s any money on it? Maybe it’s useless, and she’s just fooling an idiot like you.” I turned to her with a sweet smile. “Whether there’s money on it is none of your business. It’s not going into your pocket either way.” Chloe’s face twisted. Aunt Linda found her second wind. She slapped the table and stood, practically spraying spit. “How did the Bennett family end up with someone like you?” “Look at you! You couldn’t get into college, you don’t have a job, and you live off your dad. Now you’re your stepmother’s maid, too? Have you no shame?” “Our Chloe is different.” Aunt Diane jumped in, sounding immensely proud. “She graduated from a prestigious university. Now she works at Sterling Group and makes a million a year! That’s what success looks like!” Sterling Group? I paused. Without thinking, I turned toward my stepmother. She sat there without so much as lifting her eyes. Unless I was mistaken, Sterling Group belonged to her. Aunt Diane kept going. “Do you even know what Sterling Group is? It’s one of the top hundred companies in the country! Chloe’s only been there two years, and she’s already a supervisor. The boss personally promoted her!” “Someone like you could spend your whole life—” “Okay, enough.” I waved a hand. “Keep it down. Mom doesn’t like noise.” “Mom?” Aunt Linda shrieked. “Your mom is in a grave! This is your stepmother! She’s been here two months, and you’re already calling her Mom? Have you no shame?”“Robert!” Aunt Diane rounded on my dad. “Say something! Your daughter’s being treated like a servant, and you’re just watching? What kind of man are you?” Everyone looked at him. Dad’s shoulders hunched. “I listen to my wife.” Aunt Linda and Aunt Diane’s faces contorted at the same time. I took the chance to shake Aunt Linda off and head for the door. Her shrill voice followed me. “Emily Bennett, stop right there! Did you hear me? You get back—” I shut the door. Peace at last. The sun outside was bright and warm against my skin. I rode my electric scooter toward the seafood market. Wind rushed down my collar, and I couldn’t help laughing out loud. I remembered the first time Dad brought my stepmother home two months earlier. I’d nearly flipped the table. My dad was such a quiet, decent man. In the ten years since Mom died, he hadn’t so much as looked at another woman. Then one day, he called and said he was bringing someone home for dinner. I assumed he meant a coworker. But when the door opened, I froze. A woman stood beside him. She looked barely over thirty, only a few years older than me. “Emily, this is Victoria Hayes.” My head buzzed. Blood rushed to my face. “Dad!” I slammed my fork onto the table. “What is this?” “Emily, just hear me out.” “We’re married.” When he said that, my whole world seemed to collapse. I locked myself in my room that night and refused to open the door for anyone. The next morning, the moment I stepped out, I smelled something delicious. The dining table was covered with shrimp dumplings, stuffed rice rolls, steamed ribs, chicken wings, and a little bowl of creamy fish soup. My stepmother sat at the table with a black coffee, looking at her phone. Dad was gone, probably at work. “Sit down and eat,” she said. After breakfast, I figured I couldn’t just eat her food without doing anything in return, so I took her empty coffee cup into the kitchen and washed it. Then my phone chimed. I dried my hands and checked it. Ten thousand dollars had been deposited into my account. My stepmother’s voice drifted over. “For washing the cup.” Later, I brought her bubble tea. Another ten thousand. Picked up street food for her. Twenty thousand. Brought in a package. Five thousand. Carried her shopping bags. Thirty thousand. I’d never met anyone so generous in my life. Eventually, I couldn’t stand not knowing. While she was out, I asked Dad, “How did you even meet her?” He scratched his head, blushed for a long time, and finally stammered out the story. It turned out Dad worked at Sterling Group. One night, he’d stayed late. On his way out, he saw my stepmother through the window of a nearby restaurant. She seemed to be on a blind date. A man in a suit sat across from her, looking respectable enough. But after something was said, the man suddenly stood and grabbed her wrist, refusing to let her leave. Dad said he had no idea where he found the courage. He just walked over. “She said she doesn’t want to go with you. Didn’t you hear her?” The man looked at Dad. Maybe Dad’s work clothes made him seem intimidating, because the man let go, swore a few times, and left. Dad thought that was the end of it. The next day, my stepmother’s assistant came to find him. Ms. Hayes wanted to take him to dinner. Dad was so scared he nearly quit. But somehow, after a few more meetings, they actually got together. Dad said she might have been fighting with her family and married the first man she found out of spite. “And you were okay with that?” My eyes had gone wide. Dad was quiet for a long time before saying, “She’s a good person.” I didn’t ask anything else. I could tell he genuinely liked her. And I got to enjoy the perks. For two months, I brought her tea, carried her bags, and ran her errands. Whenever she called, I came running. In just two months, I saved a million dollars. Now that was a bright future.I reached the seafood market. I found a vendor I knew and picked out a three-pound Australian lobster for twenty-eight hundred dollars. He cleaned it and packed it into an insulated box. Then I rode home. From a distance, I spotted several people outside our door. Aunt Linda, Aunt Diane, Chloe, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Paul were all standing there. When Aunt Linda saw me riding up, she looked as if her savior had arrived. “Emily! Finally!” “What happened?” I parked my scooter and walked over with the box. “Why aren’t you inside?” Aunt Linda’s face twitched. Chloe was biting her lip. Her eyes were red, as if she’d just been crying. Aunt Diane scowled. “That stepmother of yours threw us out! Said we were disturbing her rest! Is that any way to treat guests?” “Oh.” I nodded and walked past them to unlock the door. “You deserved it.” “What did you say?” Aunt Linda’s voice cracked. “I said you deserved it.” I looked back and smiled. “You insulted my mom in her own home. Of course she kicked you out.” “She is not your mom!” “Legally, she is.” I slid my key into the lock. “If that’s all, you should go home. I have a lobster to cook for Mom.” “Emily Bennett!” I ignored her and went inside. Aunt Linda was still cursing behind me, but once I shut the door, I couldn’t hear a word. My stepmother sat on the living room couch, reading documents on her tablet. Half a cup of hot black tea steamed on the coffee table. “Mom, I got the lobster.” I set the insulated box on the dining table. “How would you like it? Steamed? Garlic butter? Sashimi?” She didn’t look up. “I don’t want it anymore. You eat it.” I blinked. “Seriously?” “Yes.” I nearly dropped to my knees in gratitude. A three-pound Australian lobster! I’d never eaten a lobster that big in my life! “Then I’m cooking it!” Afraid she might change her mind, I grabbed the box and ran into the kitchen. I worked for half an hour. When I brought the lobster to the table, the scent of garlic filled the living room. I’d barely picked up my fork when the noise outside started again. I set it down, went to the door, and looked through the peephole. Well, well. They’d brought Grandma. “Dad!” I called over my shoulder. “Grandma’s here!” Dad came out of his room, and his expression changed immediately. “Open the door,” he said. I did. Grandma stood at the front of the group. She planted her cane on the floor. “Robert Bennett! Look at you now! Locking your own relatives out? Do you have any respect left for your mother?” Dad ducked his head. “Mom, don’t be upset. They started—” “Started what? They made a few comments! Is your wife so precious no one can say a word to her?” Aunt Linda eagerly added fuel to the fire. “Exactly! You should’ve seen her, Mom. Acting like royalty! Emily peeled and deveined shrimp for her, and she complained they were farm-raised. Then she threw a card at Emily and sent her out for Australian lobster. A three-thousand-dollar lobster!” Grandma’s face went dark. “This is outrageous!” She walked in with her cane, sat heavily on the couch, and scanned the room until her eyes landed on my stepmother. My stepmother didn’t look up. “Ahem!” Grandma cleared her throat loudly. “Robert, I’m here on important business.” Dad stood obediently nearby. “What is it, Mom?” “Your brother needs a house.” Dad blinked. “His place out in the suburbs is too small. His wife’s pregnant with their second child. They need more room.” Grandma spoke as if this settled everything. “They found a four-bedroom place in the city. The down payment is a million. You’ll cover it.”“I…” Dad opened his mouth. “I don’t have that kind of money.” “You don’t have money?” Grandma’s voice rose. “But your wife can buy a three-thousand-dollar lobster?” I stood in the kitchen doorway, fork still in hand, and couldn’t help speaking up. “Dad didn’t pay for the lobster.” “Nobody asked you!” Grandma struck the coffee table with her cane. My stepmother finally raised her head. She glanced at the mark on the table and frowned slightly. “Robert,” Grandma continued. “You’re the oldest. You have responsibilities. Your brother’s struggling. If you won’t help him, who will?” “But… I…” Dad’s voice kept getting softer. “And your sister.” Grandma pointed at Aunt Diane. “Her child is going abroad to study. Tuition is two hundred thousand a year. As an uncle, you should contribute.” Aunt Diane nodded eagerly. “And Chloe’s getting married. The groom’s family is putting up five hundred thousand for the couple. We need to give her six hundred thousand. You’ll cover that, too.” Grandma counted on her fingers. “One million, two hundred thousand, six hundred thousand. That’s one point eight million.” “You forgot something, Grandma,” Chloe suddenly said. “Dad needs a new car, too. Two hundred thousand.” “Right, right. Another two hundred thousand. Two million.” Aunt Linda’s eyes lit up. I leaned against the kitchen doorway and nearly laughed. Two million. I’d wondered why every relative on Dad’s side had shown up together today, as if they’d planned it. They were here for money. Someone must have told them Dad had married a rich woman. Rumors always got more ridiculous as they spread. Yes, my stepmother was rich. But that was her money. It had nothing to do with Dad. And here these people were, lining up for handouts. “Robert, say something!” Grandma struck the floor with her cane again. Dad stood there, white-faced. Then my stepmother moved. She took a sip of tea and spoke at her leisure. “Why is it so noisy?” Her voice wasn’t loud, but the whole living room instantly fell silent. Her eyes passed over Aunt Linda, Aunt Diane, and Chloe before settling on Grandma. “Who is this old woman?” Grandma’s face darkened. “What… what did you say?” “I asked who you are.” My stepmother’s tone stayed mild. “Is there some emergency that requires you to come into my home shouting? Is your house on fire?” I nearly laughed. “Robert!” Grandma shook with anger as she pointed her cane at Dad. “Did you hear that? Your wife called me an old woman! Do something!” “This is your first time meeting your daughter-in-law, and you came empty-handed? That’s polite?” I looked at Grandma. “Is that how the Bennett family does things?” Her face stiffened. “I’m her elder!” Her voice rose again. “Since when does an elder have to bring a gift?” “Since when do elders show up demanding money from the younger generation?” I tilted my head, looking curious. “You—” “Enough.” My stepmother interrupted, a trace of impatience in her voice. “So after all that, you’re here for money.” Grandma immediately recovered her confidence. “What do you mean, here for money? Families help each other! I’m his mother. He’s supposed to support me! His brother and sister need help. He’s supposed to help them, too!” My stepmother smiled. Then she turned to Dad. “Robert, why is your whole family like this?” His face drained. “They demand money so confidently. You’d think they were collecting a debt.” She tapped the arm of the couch twice. “Why don’t you cut them off?” Grandma’s eyes widened. “Cut ties with them, and I’ll give you five million.”