They said I would end up with nothing.” She looked down at her hands.

“I didn’t want to be a burden to you, after everything you’d done.

And I kept thinking that if I was just patient, if I just kept the peace, we could stay a family.

That’s all I wanted, Evelyn.

I just wanted to keep the family together.”

I had to sit very still for a moment, because what I was feeling was too big to be safe to move around inside.

They had done more than take her money and her room.