There they were.
My mother Evelyn, Vanessa, and my brother Derek, standing in the airport beneath the international departures sign.
Vanessa wore a white sunhat and oversized sunglasses.
Derek held a glass of champagne.
My mother stood between them smiling like she had just won something.
The caption made my stomach turn.
“Tahiti with the people who actually know how to enjoy life. Ten days in paradise!”
Underneath it, my mother had commented:
“Some people create drama. We create memories.”
I stared at those words for several seconds.
Then I took a screenshot.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Because for the first time in my life, I understood that whenever my mother hurt me, she immediately rewrote the story so that she became the victim.
This time, I intended to keep receipts.
My laptop chimed.
An email from Vanguard Property Acquisitions appeared.
Their initial cash offer was brutal.
The house had recently appraised for $685,000.
