I heard a muffled, shrill scream from the other end of the line.

“She canceled the payments today,” Grandpa Joe continued, his voice dripping with icy satisfaction. “And if you don’t find a way to be a human being in the next twenty-four hours—if you don’t apologize and show some shred of gratitude—I’m changing my will. Everything. The Pasadena house, the stocks, the bonds. It’s all going to Rebecca and Emma. I won’t leave my legacy to a woman who treats her own blood like a nuisance.”

He hung up and walked back in, looking exhausted but resolute. “Your grandmother would be ashamed of her. I know I am.”

Marcus arrived shortly after, looking like he’d run the entire way from the airport. He climbed into the bed beside me, holding me with a gentleness that made me feel whole again.