My mother stumbled toward me.
“Please, Emily.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“We can work this out.”
I stepped backward.
The same word that had started everything.
“We’re family.”
I looked directly at her.
“We stopped being family when you tried to steal my home.”
Nobody spoke.
Nobody defended them.
For the first time in my life, everyone saw the truth.
The golden child.
The manipulative parents.
The daughter they had used for years.
And the cost of finally pushing too far.
I turned around.
Walked toward the exit.
And
