“They’ve all been paid by Thomas.”
Someone whispered,
“Every month?”
David nodded slowly.
“For nearly nine years.”
A shocked silence settled over everyone.
Thomas looked around at the crowd.
“So today…”
“My children were forced to serve meals…”
“…to people eating food paid for by the father they call a failure.”
No one spoke.
Not a single person.
Helen stepped forward.
“You embarrassed us!”
Thomas gave a quiet laugh.
“No.”
“I simply stopped protecting you.”
Robert slammed his plate onto the table.
“After everything we’ve done for you!”
Thomas looked at him with sadness.
“What exactly have you done?”
Robert opened his mouth.
No words came.
Thomas continued.
“When Rebecca had pneumonia…”
“You weren’t there.”
“When Samuel spent three nights in the hospital…”
“You never came to visit.”
“When Jacob learned to ride a bike…”
“You said you were too busy.”
“But today…”
“You somehow found plenty of time to humiliate them.”
Helen’s voice shook.
“We were trying to teach them humility.”
