“A real family,” I repeated. “Is that what you call years of excluding me? Of telling people I couldn’t make it to events I wasn’t even invited to? Of trying to rip out Mom’s roses and erase every trace of her from this place?”
Lily flinched.
“Stop it,” she snapped. “You’re making her sound like some kind of monster.”
I looked at her—really looked—for the first time that morning. Without the filter of social media, without the glow of a carefully curated photo, she looked younger. The eyeliner she usually wore so precisely smudged faintly under her eyes. Her mouth was set, but there was uncertainty lurking there now.
Officer Martinez closed the folder. “I’m going to have to ask everyone to keep things civil,” he said. “Legally, the situation is clear. This is Miss Parker’s property. If there is any dispute about previous paperwork, that will have to be handled between lawyers. For now, no one has the right to prevent Miss Parker from entering, staying at, or managing this property. Understood?”
My father nodded slowly. Lily looked at the ground.
Victoria glared at him, mouth twisted. “Say something,” she demanded.