“I was scared.”
“My children were hungry and humiliated in your house.”
“They were fine.”
“No, Mom. They were not fine. They were sitting in a corner with empty plates while you served Vanessa’s children first.”
“She has three kids. You only have two.”
I closed my eyes.
Even after everything, she was still trying to turn cruelty into arithmetic.
“Mom, listen carefully. You will not see Noah or Lily until you can explain, without excuses, why what you did was wrong.”
Her voice sharpened. “You are keeping my grandchildren from me?”
“I am protecting my children from you.”
“You always were sensitive.”
“No,” I said. “I was trained to accept less. There is a difference.”
She hung up.
I sat there with the phone in my hand, my heartbeat steady for the first time all morning.
