And I remembered the note in my hand, and I began, for the first time, to understand what it actually meant.

Chapter 3 — Living the Life We Deserve

My mother, Brenda, along with my brother, Garrett, and my sister, Chloe, had taken the family fund and booked themselves a luxury Caribbean cruise.

That fund was the account into which I deposited the larger part of my naval salary, every single month, from wherever in the world I happened to be — money I sent home believing, without ever once questioning it, that it was keeping Raymond alive.

There was a tablet on the living room counter, and when I picked it up, a notification was already glowing on the screen.

It was Garrett’s, from social media.