“No,” she whispered. “Claire lives far away.”

Something inside me broke.

But I didn’t shout.

That was what Darren expected.

He had spent our entire childhood winning arguments by becoming louder than everyone else.

And he had always mistaken silence for surrender.

I stood.

“Where are Mom’s doctors?”

Brooke rolled her eyes.

“She’s confused. Old people get confused.”

“And the nurse I hired?”

Darren’s expression changed.

Only for half a second.

But that was enough.

Then he put an arm around my shoulder and tried steering me toward the kitchen.

“Look, Claire, you’ve been gone a long time. Things changed. Mom signed some paperwork. I handle the property now.”

I looked at him.

“What paperwork?”

He smiled.

“The kind that makes this my house.”

I let the silence stretch between us.

Then I reached inside my coat and touched the sealed envelope in my pocket.