She tried to take my mother’s beach house

“The house isn’t yours to ban me from, Victoria,” I said quietly.

“Oh, but it is,” she replied, and I could hear the triumphant smile in her voice. “Your father signed it over to me last month. It’s mine now, and I don’t want you anywhere near it. You’re just like your mother, you know. Always thinking you’re entitled to everything.”

That jab was so predictable it barely stung anymore.

A small smile pulled at the corner of my mouth, one she couldn’t see but I enjoyed anyway. “Thanks for letting me know about the locks,” I said.

There was a beat of confused silence. “What does that—”