The smear campaign started quietly with relatives stopping their replies to my messages and liking my mother’s cryptic social media posts. My Aunt Martha, the keeper of all family mythology, finally called me and skipped the greetings to talk about my business. She told me that my parents were in a terrible bind because of Tyler’s situation and that I was the reason for it.
“I’m told you refused to help when you easily could have,” Martha snapped over the phone.
I tried to explain the truth about the funeral and the Hawaii trip, but she told me that my mother claimed I always exaggerated for attention. I realized then that my parents had gotten to the jury box before I even knew there was a trial happening. Martha told me not to let money change me and reminded me that blood was always supposed to be thicker than water.
Later that evening, Silas emailed me a screenshot from a neighborhood Facebook group where my mother had written a long, dramatic post. She wrote about a daughter who had turned cruel after coming into money and parents who were being left behind in their time of need. The worst part was her praying that I would remember I was a daughter before I was a captain.