Chapter 6 - The First Lie
I read the word abducted three times before it made sense.
June told me not to contact Daphne, not to post the video online, and not to destroy a single message. She was filing an objection and arranging an independent assessment of Mom's ability to make decisions.
"People can need help without losing their right to choose where they live," she said.
Mom sat on my couch with a cup of tea balanced in both hands. "I do forget things," she admitted. "Sometimes names. Sometimes why I walked into a room."
"So do I," I said.
"But I remember what they did."
That afternoon she told me how it began. Nico's home-repair business had collapsed the previous summer. He and Daphne moved into Mom's house for "a few weeks." They took over the bills. Nico started calling himself the responsible one. Daphne criticized the way Mom cooked, dressed, and cleaned.
"She stopped letting me use the dining room after I dropped a plate," Mom said. "Said I was too messy to sit with decent people."
"And Nico?"
"He carried my chair into the garage."
I closed my eyes. Dad had built that table when I was six. He used to tell us every person deserved a place at it, even the ones we were mad at.
"Mom, did he ever hurt you?"
She rubbed her wrist. "He held me still when I tried to get the house key back. After that, I stopped trying."
My phone rang. Nico.
I answered with June's warning echoing in my head and put him on speaker with Mom's consent.
"Carmen," he said, "you need to listen. Daphne is doing this because she thinks she's saving us."
"From what?"
May you like
He made a strangled sound. "The loan isn't the worst part. Ask Mom about the stairs."
Mom's cup hit the floor.
