He only said that the answer mattered more than the joke.

That night I opened the notebook in which I kept Hazel’s milestones.

Her first laugh, her first attempt to roll over, the evening she pulled my hair while I tried to read.

Then I turned to a new page and wrote the date, the grocery total, and Brandon’s exact words.

I was not preparing revenge.

I was finally making an honest record of what was happening.

I called Lauren Vance the next morning.