I said sometimes it feels as though you don’t belong with this family anymore.
Tyler twisted it.”
“He quoted you.”
Her face hardened.
“You have been distant since Emma died.
We never know what to say around you.”
The words landed with a familiar precision.
They had spent three years treating my grief as an inconvenience, and now she was using it as evidence against me.
I felt the old instinct rise—the need to explain, soften, reassure, and make my pain easier for them to tolerate.
I let the instinct pass.
“You could have said her name,” I replied.
“That would have been a start.”
For once, Mom had no answer.
Daniel turned to the bank packet.
“There is another issue.
Stephanie’s provisional consent was attached to an application describing roof repairs and medical expenses.
The version submitted for approval contained an additional eighty-six thousand dollars in personal debt and a forged trustee authorization.
