“I will.”

“Call me if anyone appears.”

Chapter 6 — Sixty-Eight Calls

Ten minutes later, my phone began vibrating. First Brenda called. Then Kendra. Then both numbers alternated without pause. A message appeared. What did you tell Richard? Then another.

My card was declined in front of everyone. Another. Kendra’s operating account is frozen. Fix this. Then: You are using Lily to manipulate the family.

I placed the phone facedown. It kept buzzing against the kitchen table, sending short, angry vibrations through the wood. I made tea. Checked on Lily.

Locked both doors. When I came back to the kitchen, I had twenty-three missed calls. By ten o’clock, there were forty-one. By eleven, fifty-seven. Just before midnight, the count reached sixty-eight.