She said Claire was holding your business money hostage in Lakewood.”

Daniel opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“Mom said if I made things hard enough for Claire around the house, you’d be forced to leave sooner,” Ava said.

Daniel dropped his face into both open hands, his elbows resting heavily on the audit pages, and sat completely still.

The kitchen was quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator motor and the distant rumble of a truck passing on the avenue.

I touched the thin silver bracelet Eleanor had given me for my college graduation, feeling the small cool links beneath my thumb.