“Do we have to stay long?” Tyler asked.
“We’ll stay long enough to be polite,” I replied, though I was already tired.
Guests filled the lawn with easy laughter, and my mother floated between them in a pale pink dress and pearls. When she saw us, she kissed my cheek and glanced at Lucy with a measured smile.
“I hope we remember our manners today,” she said lightly. “There are important people here.”
Lucy nodded, trying to please her, and followed us to a table set with tiered trays of delicate sandwiches. The scent of cucumbers and fresh bread drifted up as Lucy reached eagerly for one.
Before her fingers touched the plate, my mother lifted the entire tray away. “Not yet,” she said sharply. “We have standards at this table.”
Lucy blinked in confusion, and the surrounding conversation thinned into uneasy silence.
Judith looked around at the guests and added, “Some people need to remember they are guests here, not blood.”
The words hung in the air, unmistakable and cruel. Lucy’s hand dropped slowly to her lap, and I saw her swallow hard.
“Mom,” I said carefully, “Lucy is your granddaughter.”
Judith gave a dismissive laugh. “Adoption is generous, Allison, but let’s not pretend it makes history.”
Tyler stood so abruptly his chair scraped loudly against the stone patio. “Grandma,” he said, his voice shaking despite his effort to steady it, “should I explain who actually owns this house?”
A ripple of murmurs spread across the lawn. My mother’s face tightened as she whispered for him to sit down, but he continued.
“After Grandpa died, this place was almost foreclosed,” he said. “My mom refinanced it and pays the mortgage every month.”
I could have stopped him. Instead, I let the truth stand.
Judith turned to me, her expression a mix of fury and disbelief. “Tell him to stop lying.”
“He’s not lying,” I said evenly. “The house is legally mine.”
Gasps and hushed voices circled us, and I felt the strange calm that comes when fear burns away.
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