I had rejected each one because promotions required longer hours, and Teresa kept insisting she needed me available to solve her emergencies.
I almost laughed.
Even opportunities I blamed the company for losing had been destroyed by my family’s demands.
Rachel closed the file.
“We need to discuss last night. The recording Emily made indicates attempted coercion and conspiracy to obtain control of the trust. Combined with the forged documents and identity theft, this is serious.”
“What happens now?”
“That depends partly on you.”
I looked toward Emily’s room.
For most of my life, Teresa had trained me to believe consequences were cruelty. When Brittany crashed a borrowed car, I paid. When Kayla stole money from our grandmother, I replaced it and kept quiet. When Lily stopped attending classes after I paid her tuition, I gave her another semester.
I had called it forgiveness.
But forgiveness without boundaries had become permission.
