“I’m ending what you did to the only person in it who ever acted like family.” My mother began to sob, the tissues finally earning their keep, and reached for me.

“Genevieve, please — we can still fix this, quietly, between us —” “That was Grandfather’s mistake,” I said.

“He kept your cruelty quiet for years, to protect the family’s name.

It’s what let it go on so long.

I’m not going to make it.” Chloe came up out of her seat toward me, and an officer stepped between us without hurry, and over his shoulder she hissed the only card she had left.

“You think you’ve won?” I met her eyes, and I found that I felt no triumph, only a great and settled quiet.