I made my voice tired, reasonable, almost gentle.

“You know what — you’re right,” I said to my mother.

“Me coming in here yelling isn’t going to fix anything.

That’s not how we solve things.” Phedra went rigid against my side, and I pressed her hand once, hard, a silent trust me she could not yet understand.

“We can talk about this like a family.

And actually — there’s something I was going to tell you all tomorrow anyway.

Some news.”