Chapter 7
Marcus sighed — the heavy, condescending sigh of a man who didn’t want to deal with reality. “Look, Rob’s just protective of Vanessa. And you know Mom gets emotional.
You need to come back here, make Emily apologize for the scene, and we can sweep this under the rug. Don’t blow up the family over a misunderstanding.”
Make Emily apologize.
A deep, unfamiliar rage ignited in my chest. For years, since our father died, I’d been the family shock absorber. I paid the bills, fixed the roof, swallowed the insults to keep my mother from spiraling.
May you like
I understood then that they didn’t just want my compliance. They required Emily’s destruction to validate their own superiority.
“Marcus,” I said softly. “Do not contact me again.” I hung up before he could respond.
