Chapter 6
Rebecca’s face changed.
Not into guilt.
Into panic.
That hurt more than I expected.
A guilty daughter might have cried.
A frightened daughter might have apologized.
Rebecca calculated.
“Mom,” she said softly, using the voice she probably planned to use in court, “you’re confused.”
There it was.
The story.
The one Luka warned me about.
I smiled sadly.
“No, sweetheart. I am disappointed. There is a difference.”
Philip stepped closer.
“You are making this worse for yourself.”
I looked past him at the street.
Helen’s porch light was on. Luka’s car was parked two houses down. The private investigator sat across the street in a gray sedan. None of them moved.
They did not need to.
Their presence was enough.
“Every account is locked,” I said. “Every questionable document has been copied. Every signature you forged or prepared to use is being reviewed. Luka Daniels is handling all communication from now on.”
Rebecca’s lips parted.
Philip went still.
I saw it then.
They had expected the old version of me.
The lonely mother.
The trusting grandmother.
The widow who would be too embarrassed to admit her own child had tried to take from her.
“I don’t know what Alice thinks she heard,” Rebecca said quickly.
My voice went cold.
“Do not put this on that child.”
For the first time, Rebecca looked ashamed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Philip recovered faster.
“You can’t cut us out,” he said. “We’re family.”
I looked at my daughter.
“Family does not sneak away to convince a court that a woman is incompetent while leaving that woman to babysit their child.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled.
“Mom, we were trying to protect you.”
“No,” I said. “You were trying to inherit me while I was still alive.”
The porch fell silent.
The rain began softly then, tapping against the steps.
I reached into my cardigan pocket and took out a folded paper.
“Until this is resolved legally, you are not entering my home. You are not accessing my accounts. And Alice stays with Helen tonight if she wants to. Not because I am taking her from you, but because I will not let her stand in the middle of your lies.”
Rebecca whispered, “You would do that to your own daughter?”
May you like
I looked at her for a long moment.
“No,” I said. “You did.”
