Gwen collapsed by the sink from sheer exhaustion.

As I carried her to the bed, I quietly recorded the laughter, the insults, and my mother announcing to the room that a sick woman was only good for getting underfoot.

That evening, I set the last hook.

I told them my firm in Canada needed proof of assets held solely in my name within seventy-two hours — otherwise the whole payout would be frozen for a tax audit.

My mother hesitated. But Paige, obsessed with her dream spa, pushed hard until my mother caved.

The next morning we drove together to a notary’s office. Paige signed a deed of gift transferring the house back to me, since it had been in her name.