reaction arrived by text.
I forwarded it to my lawyer.
“You’ve gone insane.”
I forwarded it to my lawyer.
Then another came.
“My mom is poisoning you against me.”
I forwarded that too.
There were numbers, dates, records, and deadlines.
The next time Eric called Barbara, Tessa was shouting in the background.
A few days later, Barbara called.
“Tessa knows.”
“Knows what?”
“Enough.”
The next time Eric called Barbara, Tessa was shouting in the background.
“You told me she left you!”
Barbara pulled the phone away from her ear.
Eric said something I couldn’t make out.
Then Tessa’s voice came again.
“You said the house was yours. You said she had money. You said the baby didn’t need anything.”
Barbara pulled the phone away from her ear.
“I think he’s having a difficult evening,” she said.
For the first time in weeks, I smiled.
One evening, Barbara visited while Chloe
