My Classic Car Collection Became a Family Battlefield, and I Had to Draw Financial Boundaries
Over time, the collection grew. A Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. A 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS. A 1963 Corvette Stingray with the split rear window. A 1964 Aston Martin DB5. A rare 1981 BMW M1. A 1989 Lamborghini Countach. A first-generation 1992 Dodge Viper RT/10.
Altogether, the cars were valuable on paper, but that wasn’t the point. Their real value to me was personal. Each one was a chapter. A memory. Proof that I kept my promise to the sixteen-year-old girl in the rusty Taurus.
I joined a classic car club and met people who understood. We hosted charity shows. We raised scholarship money for women entering STEM careers. I did as much maintenance as I could myself because it centered me, the same way it did when I was young.
Those cars were not toys.
They were my life, made tangible.
My Sister Natalie and the Pattern That Never Changed
To understand what happened next, you need to understand my sister, Natalie.
