“So you didn’t explain.”
“You always helped!”
“Then why forge my name?”
Mom began crying.
“Because we knew you’d ask questions.”
That hurt more than the birthday toast.
They had not deceived me because they thought I would refuse to help.
They deceived me because they knew I was responsible enough to recognize how reckless they were being.
I stared at her.
“How much of Kayla’s success was mine?”
Mom flinched.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The loans. My savings. The guarantees. How much?”
She looked away.
“Most of
