Maybe my pension wasn’t actually as large as I remembered.
Maybe taxes had gone up.
Maybe I was confused.
Maybe my memory was failing.
Maybe the numbers were more trustworthy than I was.
That was the cruelest part.
Lily squeezed my hands tighter and asked softly, “Mom… how much do you actually receive every month?”
“Ten thousand,” I whispered.
Megan laughed lightly.
“That’s the gross amount,” she corrected. “After taxes and allocations, it’s very different.”
Lily stood up immediately.
“Allocations?” she snapped. “What allocations?”
“Private ventures,” Megan replied calmly. “Ryan and I are building something for the family.”
Lily turned toward me again.
“Mom… did you agree to give them your money?”
I hesitated.
Ryan had told me the investments would grow.
He said one day I’d thank him.
He said he was creating long-term security for all of us.
Megan’s smile hardened slightly.
“This really doesn’t need to become dramatic,” she said. “Eleanor is perfectly fine. She lives here. Her bills are paid.”
Lily walked to the pantry and opened it.
Empty.
Then the freezer.
Empty too.
“She has no food,” Lily said, her voice shaking with disbelief.
“You don’t understand our arrangement,” Megan replied.
That was when Lily removed her earrings.
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