Chapter 17
I hadn't realized
how badly I needed that.
Two weeks later,
Ranata arrived at my farmhouse.
It was raining.
A thin,
persistent rain that turned
the gravel driveway dark
and gathered beneath the porch steps.
I saw her SUV through the kitchen window.
She sat inside for several minutes.
Then she stepped out,
pulled her coat tight,
and walked toward the door.
I didn't open it immediately.
I watched her stand there.
She was my older sister.
The girl who once taught me
how to braid my hair.
The teenager who had defended me
when neighborhood children mocked my braces.
The young woman who had held my hand
at our grandmother's funeral.
I had memories of her
that didn't belong to the woman
who forged invoices in my name.
And I didn't know
what to do with either version.
Finally,
I opened the door.
“Fay.”
“Ranata.”
Her eyes traveled past me
into the farmhouse.
“Can I come in?”
I considered it.
Then stepped aside.
She entered slowly.
Her gaze moved over the old furniture,
the worn kitchen table,
the coat hooks by the door.
“You still live like this.”
I almost laughed.
It was such a familiar beginning.
“Like what?”
She waved vaguely.
“Nothing.
I just thought,
with the sale…”
She didn't finish.
I pointed toward a chair.
“Sit down.”
She remained standing.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I'm listening.”
She removed an envelope
from her coat pocket.
Inside was a handwritten list
of assets she hoped to sell.
Her SUV.
Some jewelry.
Furniture.
An investment account.
A small interest
in a commercial property.
She pushed the list toward me.
“I can repay part of it.”
I studied the page.
“That belongs with the attorneys.”
“Fay, please.
Don't make this harder.”
I set the envelope down.
“I'm not making it harder.
I'm making sure everything is documented.”
Her face tightened.
“You always have to be right.”
I stared at her.
Even now,
with everything exposed,
she was trying to turn
my refusal into a character flaw.
“Why did you come here?”
She looked toward the window.
“Because I wanted my sister back.”
The words landed painfully.
For one foolish second,
I wanted to believe them.
Then she continued.
“And because you could stop all this.”
I closed my eyes.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“You want me to stop the investigation.”
“I want you to think about our family.”
“I have.”