At 3 A.M., My Brother Dragged Me Out of My Bedroom While Dad Laughed—He Had No Idea What the Smoke Detector Had Recorded

He’d helped me move furniture.

Driven me to appointments.

Laughed with me over family jokes.

All those memories existed.

So did the video.

I didn’t need to decide that every good memory was false to acknowledge what happened.

Aaron looked toward Douglas.

For a moment, I thought my father might speak for him again.