Upstairs, my father had regained consciousness and indignation in equal measure.
He was in one of the patio chairs now, face still bloodless, tie loosened, a damp cloth pressed theatrically to the back of his neck by my mother. Jace stood beside him with the agitated energy of a man who couldn’t decide whether to threaten, flatter, or pretend the whole thing was somehow a misunderstanding. The clients had not left. That surprised me. Then again, money and power create their own gravitational field. Nobody wants to miss the moment the room reorders itself.
When the movers carried Grandpa’s chest through the kitchen and out toward the driveway, my mother stood up so fast the cloth fell to the grass.
“You are not taking everything!” she snapped.
Vivienne opened her folio with the slow, devastating patience of a woman who had made a career out of dismembering other people’s confidence in court.