Alana answered,

“She reacted exactly the way we wanted.”

Then Ellie laughed.

“Good.”

My stomach tightened.

The recording continued.

“Keep making Dustin uncomfortable,” Ellie said. “Eventually he’ll refuse to come here.”

There was a short pause.

Then Alana replied,

“Once he stops coming, Parker can visit without them.”

I stared at my phone.

Then Ellie said something even worse.

“Clarissa will get angry. We’ll have proof of her making another scene. Parker will finally understand that she’s the problem.”

Alana laughed.

“And maybe this place can finally feel like a family cottage instead of something Clarissa controls.”

Suddenly, every strange moment from the previous weeks looked different.

The separate meals.

The constant comparisons with Mason.

The comments about Dustin’s behavior.

The remarks about “real family.”

They weren’t simply being thoughtless.

They had been deliberately trying to make Dustin feel unwelcome so he would stop wanting to visit.

And they expected me to become angry enough that they could use my reaction against me.

I saved the recording immediately.

Then I forwarded it to Parker.

No explanation.

No argument.

Just the audio.

Thirty seconds later, he called.