I just need to understand what belongs to me before they convince me it belongs to them.”

“Then start there,” Laura said.

“And remember that you’re allowed to be angry.”

I wrote those words on a yellow notepad.

For once, I would not apologize for needing time to think.

PART 3 — A Visit to Mr. Callahan

Mr.

Callahan’s office occupied the second floor of a modest building between a dentist and a travel agency.