My stepmother laughed and said to me, “You’re not from this family,” so I raised my glass and replied, “Then don’t ever ask me for money again”… and at that moment my father discovered the lie that had been hidden from him for years.

Mauricio leaned back in his chair. “Oh, Alma, don’t be dramatic. The lake house belongs to the family.”

I looked straight at him. “Then pay for it with family money.”

That was when Veronica gave that short, poisonous laugh.

“Oh, please. You’re not even part of this family.”

The silence that followed was so dry I could hear the hum of the air conditioner.