“We were never actually going to make you pay it back,” my mother snapped.

“You’ve been making me pay it back for thirty years,” I said.

“By making me fund Lucienne’s entire adult life.”

Chapter 14 — Strong

“We gave you food, shelter, an education!” my father shouted.

“Those were your obligations as a parent.

Not a loan with interest.”

My mother closed the notebook, and her eyes went cold and certain in a way I would think about for a long time afterward.

“Lucienne was always more fragile than you,” she said.

“You were strong. We knew you could handle things on your own.”