His brow furrowed. "It's your mother, isn't it? Why would I bother looking?"
"I'd rather not dirty my eyes."
His sister, Vanessa Farley, chimed in with a sneer:
"My brother bought this villa specifically to welcome our mother home—a gift for her. She hasn't even moved in yet, and your mother came crawling over to freeload. How disgusting is that?"
"If you ask me, she deserved to die. At least now she won't be out there embarrassing everyone."
"Did you really think that marrying into the Farley family meant your whole clan could ride our coattails?"
With both Elmer and Vanessa firmly on Lorraine's side, the rest of the Farley circle fell in line one by one:
"Exactly. A mother-in-law who mooches off everyone—she was a parasite even when she was alive."
"This time she only humiliated us in front of family. Next time it could be in public. Imagine how people would laugh at the Farleys then."
"Right? People who didn't know better would think the Farleys were raising a family of beggars."
"Honestly, Secretary Swanson handled this perfectly. Consider it a permanent solution for the family."
In an instant, the entire courtyard was singing Lorraine's praises.