"Your car needs some serious repairs. Good thing you didn’t get on the highway—this could’ve ended really badly."
"The brake pads are completely worn down. You might be fine driving slow, but if you had to brake suddenly at high speed, you’d probably lose control."
"The engine’s in bad shape too. And on top of that, there’s a slight fuel leak."
My mom stiffened. "That’s impossible!" she blurted. "My husband just took this car in for maintenance a few days ago. How could it have all these issues?"
The mechanic gave a tired sigh. "I’m just telling you what I found, ma'am. If you don’t believe me, take it to another shop. But I’m warning you—this car isn’t safe to drive."
My mom still looked like she wanted to argue, but I stopped her. Instead, I turned to the mechanic and said, "Just fix it. As soon as possible, please."
I looked at my mom, my expression complicated. "Mom, do you remember the life insurance Dad took out on us a while back?"
"I thought it was strange at the time—why would he suddenly buy something like that? But now, it all makes sense..."