The money is only the instrument.

What I actually want to give Lily — what the trust is really for — is a life in which she never, not for one single day, has to make herself smaller, or quieter, or more agreeable, or more tolerant of disrespect, because she is financially dependent on a person who does not deserve that power over her.

I watched what dependence does, even to strong women, even to women who should know better.

It very nearly happened to me, and I was already wealthy and formidable when Luca found me — and still some worn, lonely part of me softened and yielded and made excuses, because being enfolded by a family felt like safety, and I did not want to risk it by insisting too loudly on what was mine.