I also went through the boxes in my closet to find the screenshots of my mother’s cruel texts and the Hawaii photos. I printed everything on crisp white paper and slid them into sheet protectors, because the truth should look as disciplined as the lie. I went to Silas’s ranch and we went through every scenario together to prepare for the confrontation.
“Don’t defend yourself with emotions,” Silas advised. “Stick to the dates and the facts.”
I built a short presentation on my laptop with a timeline of the funeral and the evidence of Tyler’s debts. The night before the reunion, I stood in my office restroom and decided I wouldn’t wear my uniform to the event. I wanted to go as the woman I had become, someone they had underestimated for thirty four years.
Part 7
The private room at the steakhouse smelled like seared beef and expensive perfume, and the conversations died down the moment Silas and I walked in. I saw pity and accusation on the faces of my relatives, while my parents sat at the center table looking tragic. My mother was wearing black, and Tyler sat beside her with an expensive watch gleaming on his wrist.