Mia’s POV

Mom answered in broken pieces.

The more she talked, the clearer it became that our father had been planning this for months. He had already moved most of his important papers out of the house. The new baby was only a few weeks old. He had told her that if she tried to fight for the house or alimony, he would drag her through court and “make sure everyone knows what kind of wife she was.”

I sat there listening, but my eyes never left Lily.

She didn’t interrupt once. She only nodded every now and then, occasionally stroking Mom’s hair the way someone soothes a frightened child....