Megan joked that Ethan should transfer the house into Patricia’s name before I destroyed everything.

And Ethan replied, to his mother and sister, in the group chat that included me: Already taking care of things when we get back.

I read it, and I did not respond.

I put the phone down, and I looked at my sleeping daughter, and I let them keep typing.

Because I had learned something, in my years of practicing law, that most people never learn, and that arrogant people never, ever learn: that silence makes careless people careless.

When you argue with someone like Ethan, like Patricia, you give them something to push against, you let them feel the fight, you warn them that a fight is coming.