Aunt Lauren let out a scoff, but there was no strength behind it.
“You little spy.”
“I’m not a spy,” Grace said. “I’m just not a coward.”
The room hung in a thick electric silence.
Then Hardwick cleared his throat again.
“Given this additional evidence, any potential civil dispute brought against Rowan would likely be viewed as harassment. And now, with these emails and recordings, possibly fraudulent collusion.”
My dad tried to speak, but only opened and closed his mouth like he’d forgotten how.
Nolan’s face was slowly reening with a mix of shame and rage.
“This isn’t how family treats each other.”
“You’re right,” I said. “But it is how family defends the one you all tried to bury.”
He looked at me then, not with rage anymore, but something closer to panic.
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked quietly. “They’re calling me everyday. I can’t keep dodging them.”
I shrugged.
“I don’t know, Nolan. Maybe get a job.”
His eyes widened.
For a moment, it looked like he was going to lunge at me, but my dad’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Don’t,” my father said through gritted teeth. “It’s over.”
I met his eyes.
“Yes, it is.”
They left without another word.
My father, for the first time in my life, didn’t have a parting lecture.
Aunt Lauren didn’t slam the door, though her glare promised she’d try something else later.
And Nolan, whose entire life had been one long string of second chances, left with his fists clenched and jaw-tight, suddenly stripped of the lifeline he assumed would always be there.
Once they were gone, I sat back on the couch and exhaled.
Grace sat beside me, hands folded in her lap.
“Was that enough?” she asked softly.
“It was more than enough,” I said. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.”