“No,” Kenneth said quickly.

“It’s an investment.

She just doesn’t trust my judgment.”

Gertrude leaned forward.

“We’ve all supported Giselle through difficult times.

Isn’t it fair that she supports Kenneth now?”

I heard what she had done: turned eleven years of my own grief into an unpaid debt, something I was expected to repay with my home.

“Please don’t discuss my medical history or our pregnancy losses as though they were a bargaining tool,” I said.