Mom’s face lost all color. “Gage…”

“She always says no.”

That single sentence revealed everything. Mom lowered herself into a chair — not because Kobe’s birthday had been destroyed, but because, for the first time, her favorite child had admitted what he’d done without leaving room for another explanation.

“You used Sailor to punish your sister.”

His jaw tightened. “You knew I was angry.”

“I didn’t know you told her to pull the alarm.”