My grandson called me insane and locked me away to take my hotel, thinking I was too old and weak to fight back. But he forgot one thing—never underestimate a woman who built her life from nothing. I showed him what real madness looks like, and it was not what he expected.
All my life I had worked for the sake of my family. So that my son and my grandchildren would have everything they desired. And all for what?
So that a few months after the death of my only son, my grandson would take me to a nursing home?
Jake had grown up a spoiled child who had never heard the word “no,” and then became the same spoiled adult who did not accept refusal.
I was almost sure that he could have thrown himself on the floor and had a tantrum if he were not constantly seeking approval from those around him.
At seventy-five, I was the owner of a successful business, a hotel, but it had not always been that way.
When my son was three, I had taken him and we had run away from my terrible ex-husband, fleeing with almost nothing, no money, no belongings, only a car and a small backpack with children’s things.
We had walked a long and hard road from poverty to success. And although I had tried to do everything possible so that my son would not lose his childhood, he remembered what it was like to live in poverty.
So when he became a father himself, he never denied his children anything.
That was why Jake had grown up this way, he did not know what hard work was or how difficult it was to earn money. He thought he could get everything just because he was who he was.
That was why, when I was holding a meeting for the hotel staff a few days ago, Jake calmly walked into my office.
“From now on, I will be in charge of this hotel,” he said. “My grandmother is already an old woman and she is out of her mind, so it is reckless to allow her to continue working in the hotel.”
My eyebrows shot up at these words.
“Who gave you the right to decide that?” I asked strictly.
Jake pulled some piece of paper from his pocket.
“This certificate. It states that you are completely insane,” he said.
“How dare you speak like that!” I shouted. “I changed your diapers and wiped your bottom, young man! Do not pretend you are smarter than me!”
“See, that is exactly what I am talking about,” Jake turned to the staff. “This woman, as much as it pains me to admit it, is not sane. And it is dangerous to leave the business in her hands, because everything could be lost.”
“Know your place, boy!” I shouted.
“Do not worry, grandma, everything will be fine,” Jake said and approached me, then firmly grabbed me by the elbow. “I will take you home.”
Jake led me outside and put me in his car, then sat behind the wheel himself.
“What kind of show are you putting on?!” I shouted at him. “I lost my son a few months ago, and now you are making a fool of me?!”
“Do not forget he was my father,” Jake said.
“Who failed at raising you. Your father was an honest and good man, he would be ashamed if he saw you now,” I said.
“Then it is good he does not see me,” Jake said with a smirk.
“What a jerk you have grown into,” I said. “Where did you even get this certificate? I did not undergo any examinations,” I added.
“You just need to know when and to whom to pay,” Jake said.
All these past few days, there had always been someone from Jake’s people near me, watching my every move.
He told everyone else it was for my own safety, but I knew he did it for his own safety.
Until he finally took me to a nursing home, it was a nice complex, for which I was sure Jake had paid a lot, all to make others see what a good grandson he was.
Jake parked by the nursing home and helped me out of the car. I already saw a young and pretty nurse coming to meet us.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “You always had everything you wanted,” I added.
“Not enough. You see, grandma, business is like chess. You need a strategy and to calculate your moves in advance,” Jake said.
“And who taught you to play this game, fool?!” I shouted at him.
“Now, now, no need to shout,” Jake said. “You will live your retirement peacefully, I do not see what the problem is.”
“You did not just take the business. You took the people who work in this hotel, and unlike chess pieces, they are alive and have a sense of reason. And not even a month will pass before you lose all the staff,” I said.
“They are just pawns,” he said.
“But without them, there is no game,” I said.
At that moment, the nurse approached us.
“Martha, we are glad to welcome you to our facility. My name is Emma, I will show you everything here and take you to your room,” she said.
I saw how Jake winked at her and how Emma’s face twisted at that.
“Maybe you will give me your number? So I can check how my grandma is doing here?” he asked.
“You can find the number on the website and you will always get the information you need. Have a good day,” Emma said to Jake and led me on a tour.
For several weeks, I had lived in the nursing home. Do not get me wrong, it was a wonderful place, friendly staff, wonderful residents, but it was still my golden cage, and I was not going to live in captivity.
Emma, the nurse who had met me, had helped me a lot not to lose my mind.
She walked with me, asked about my life, about the business, and also often played chess with me.
And I had to say, she played quite well, much better than Jake. But all this time, I had been devising a plan on how to get out of here and show Jake his place.
“May I ask you something?” Emma said during another chess game.
“Of course, dear,” I said.
“I do not usually do this because it is forbidden. But your grandson… he said you had mental problems, but you…” Emma hesitated.
“Look absolutely normal?” I asked and Emma nodded. “Because that is exactly how it is. My dear grandson forged a certificate about my incapacity to take my hotel and lock me up here,” I said.
“That is horrible…” Emma said.
“Yes, but I have a plan. And I need your help with it,” I said.
“Me?” Emma asked in surprise.
I moved the queen to the square from which it threatened her king.
“Check,” I said.
My plan was quite simple, but I could not possibly carry it out alone. I needed Emma’s help. And I was not sure she would agree.
“You want me to seduce him??” Emma asked in surprise when I told her everything.
“I saw how he looked at you, that will not be a problem. The question is, are you ready for it?” I asked.
“If what you say is true, then I am sorry, but your grandson is a terrible person,” Emma said and looked me in the eyes. “I will help,” she finally said, which made me smile.
But that was not the only problem. We had to figure out how to get me out of here.
“I can do it, but…” Emma said.
“But what?” I asked.
“I could lose my job and license,” Emma said.
“No, then it is not worth it. We will figure out something else, I can pretend to have a heart attack and then they will call an ambulance,” I said.
“They will treat you here. There is no other way, Martha, I am ready to take the risk,” Emma said and I nodded uncertainly. My heart ached that this kind soul might lose her job because of me.
I tried several more times to dissuade her, but Emma stood her ground. She reminded me so much of myself in my youth that sometimes it seemed she was my real granddaughter, not Jake.
The next day, Emma went to the hotel to meet Jake. Before that, she had called him and said she really wanted to see him.
From her voice, I could feel how satisfied he was, because Jake was used to always getting what he wanted.
We had only one attempt to do this, because the next day Jake was throwing a party at the hotel in honor of becoming the new owner, and it was at this party that I planned to reveal his true nature.
Emma returned a few hours later and came into my room.
“How did it go? Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes, I said that tonight would be just dinner, and the continuation would be tomorrow,” Emma said. “But he opened up,” she added with a smile and turned on the recording of their conversation on her phone.
I listened to it and could not stop smiling, that idiot said everything we needed.
The next day, Emma carefully took me out of the nursing home and we went to the hotel, trying to stay unnoticed.
I asked her to find me some clothes that had been left at the nursing home and dressed in a way to look like a crazy city woman.
We entered the hotel and Emma ran to find access to the speakers, while I used all my acting skills.
I limped, knocked over glasses, laughed loudly, smeared myself with food. And finally, I attracted the attention of my grandson.
“What are you doing here?!” he shouted.
“Oh, grandson! I thought you arranged this party for me! You are so kind!” I said as loudly as possible so that as many people as possible could hear me. “You wanted me to be crazy?” I whispered to him quietly.
“You are going to ruin everything for me!” he hissed.
“Oh, microphone!” I shouted again loudly and went to the stage. “Now there will be karaoke!” I shouted into the microphone.
The music stopped and everyone looked at me, I cleared my throat and finally spoke.
“My grandson wanted everyone to see me like this. But at seventy-five, I am completely in my right mind. And if you, Jake, thought you could beat me, you were wrong,” I said, then looked at Emma and nodded. On the speakers, the recording of their conversation played…
“This is a strange question, but I noticed that your grandmother is normal. Did you take her to the nursing home to take the hotel?” Emma asked.
“Why are you asking this?” Jake said fearfully.
“Well, I just think that powerful and smart men are very hot, so I want to make sure you are one of them,” Emma said playfully.
“Yes, I did it on purpose,” Jake said proudly. “I always get what I want, and grandma did not want to give me the hotel, so I took it myself.”
“You are so cool,” Emma said.
“Yes, I am. Everyone here in this hotel are just pawns, and I am the king,” Jake said.
The recording ended and the room filled with murmurs, everyone gasped and whispered among themselves.
From the staff, I began to hear, “I quit.” One by one, the employees shouted this. The guests began to leave, talking about what a horrible person Jake was.
Jake ran onto the stage.
“No, no, this is all not serious. Are you really going to listen to a crazy old woman?” he asked into the microphone, but no one stopped.
“Maybe you are the king,” I said to him. “But you forgot that the strongest piece is the queen. It seems you still did not learn how to play, grandson. Check and mate,” I added.
After that, the security removed Jake from the hotel, I took back what was mine and approached Emma.
“You were magnificent,” Emma said.
“None of this would have happened without you,” I said. “So just thank you would not be enough. My other grandson lives in Europe, and Jake will definitely not get this hotel, not even over my dead body. I want it to go to you.”
“No, you cannot be serious, I cannot,” Emma began.
“I know you will always be guided by your kindness, so I want to pass the hotel to you,” I said.
“Martha, that is too much and I cannot handle it,” Emma said.
“If I am right, and you are like me, and I am right, then you can do anything,” I said.
After those words, Emma hugged me tightly and I hugged her just as tightly.
