Margaret’s eyes moved over my old robe, the worn carpeting behind me, and the peeling paint around the doorframe.
“This is exactly what I warned you about,” she told Evelyn. “She is using that child to make you feel guilty.”
I removed the chain and opened the door.
“Her name is Emma.”
Margaret tried to look past me.
“Where is she?”
I blocked her view.
“You don’t get to ask for my daughter before explaining why you’ve brought half your family to my house.”
“You disappeared for ten years,” Margaret replied. “Now you’ve suddenly reappeared because you want money.”
“I have never asked your family for a single cent.”
“You never contacted us.”
“That’s not true,” Barry said.
Margaret spun toward him.
“You were dismissed because you became unstable and unreliable.”
“You fired me because I found Rachel’s letters.”
Evelyn’s knees seemed to weaken.
