PART 10

Aunt Linda looked between us.

“Margaret… is Claire really paying everything?”

Mom answered before I could.

“She offered.”

I nodded.

“I did.”

“And gifts,” Mom continued, “don’t come with conditions.”

I looked directly at her.

“You’re right.”

The room became still.

She almost smiled.

Then I finished.

“But gifts also aren’t permanent contracts.”

Her smile disappeared.

I reached into my bag and placed a folder on the table.

Inside were six years of statements.

Mortgage payments.

Insurance.

Property taxes.

Utility bills.

Repair invoices.

Grocery transfers.

Every payment highlighted.

Uncle Robert slowly flipped through the pages.

His eyebrows climbed higher with every statement.

“My God…”

Aunt Linda whispered, “Claire paid for the roof?”

“Yes.”

“The furnace?”

“Yes.”

“The kitchen renovation?”

“Yes.”

Mom folded her arms tighter.

“She wanted me to have nice things.”

I answered softly.

“I wanted my mother to feel safe.”

Those two sentences revealed everything.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART…