That Saturday afternoon, I arrived at my parents’ house with Nora, who was wearing her favorite pink dress with unicorns on it. She was so excited to see her grandparents and cousin. The trouble started almost immediately. Madison, now 13 and full of teenage attitude, rolled her eyes when she saw Nora. “Why did you bring her?” she asked loudly.

“Madison, that’s not nice,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Nora is your cousin, and she’s excited to see you.”

Kendra laughed from the kitchen. “Oh, don’t take it personally, Elise. Madison’s just at that age where little kids annoy her. It’s perfectly normal.”

Normal? That word would haunt me for the rest of the day.

For the first hour, things were relatively peaceful. Norah played quietly with some toys while the adults talked, but I could see Madison watching her with this calculating look in her eyes, like she was planning something. I should have trusted my instincts and left right then.