Chapter 3: Family Meeting

Suddenly, my phone started vibrating nonstop.

Grant had added me to a new iMessage group.

The group name was: Family Meeting.

As if he hadn’t noticed I was in the group, he sent the first message.

Don’t provoke her. She’ll calm down in a few days.

Then another.

I’ve handled this as decently as possible. Piper gets the master bedroom, June can stay in the guesthouse. She just can’t accept it yet. Once she comes back, we can talk it through.

Sadie sent an eye-roll emoji.

She’s making a huge deal out of nothing.

Every time she throws a fit, she gives in for my sake anyway. My grad school tuition is due soon. She’s not really going to stop paying it.

I stared at that line.

For twelve years, whenever she was sick, got into a new school, or had her heart broken, I was the first person she called.

Now she was certain that even after being kicked out of my own bedroom, I would still pay her tuition.

Piper finally chimed in.

Don’t say that about June. She’s done a lot for this family.

Grant replied almost instantly.

You’re just too kind, baby.

A few seconds later, Piper seemed to notice the member list.

Oh my god, June, you’re in here?

We didn’t mean for you to see this. Please don’t get the wrong idea. I’ll take good care of the dress. It was your mother’s, after all.

She cut my mother’s dress, wore it to marry my partner, and was now promising to “take good care of it” for me.

Sadie jumped in immediately.

Aunt Piper is being so thoughtful. Can you stop making things hard for her?

She’s honestly so kind and generous.

I left the group chat and blocked every number.

Then I contacted a realtor, viewed three apartments, and signed a one-year lease that afternoon.

That night, I moved in.

The place was small. The living room held only a sofa and a few unopened boxes, but for the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.

I had just set my luggage down when an unfamiliar number called.

I answered, and Grant’s impatient voice came through.

“Why did you leave the group chat? June, do you have to be this dramatic?”

“Grant, we’re done.”

There was a two-second pause, then a cold laugh.

“All this over a wedding?”

“You’re in your forties. Stop acting like a child who had a toy taken away. Have you thought about Sadie at all?”

“I have.”

I opened my laptop and reviewed the files my lawyer had sent over.

“My attorney is handling the Savannah house. You’ll be receiving a thirty-day notice to vacate.”

“I’ve canceled the authorized user card on my account. And the car that’s in my name is being repossessed.”

“As for the fifty thousand dollars Piper borrowed from me during her divorce—the promissory note is valid. She has until the deadline to repay it, or I’ll see her in court.”

Grant’s breathing turned heavy.

“You’re serious?”

I didn’t answer.

His voice finally edged with panic.

“June, where are you? Are you back in Savannah?”

Outside my window, the Chicago L train rattled past. The station announcement came through the phone, clear as day.

“Next stop, Clark/Lake.”

Grant’s voice shot up an octave. “You’re still in Chicago? You never came back?”

I hung up and blocked that number, too.

This time, I wasn’t coming back.

I was going to make them get the hell out of my house.

The next day, I reached out to headhunters and a few former colleagues.

Before moving to Savannah, I’d been a senior consultant at a top Chicago firm. I’d taken a demotion and transferred to a branch office for Grant and Sadie.

Fortunately, I hadn’t been foolish enough to destroy my career completely.

A headhunter lined up two interviews for me that same day. My former boss emailed back, asking when I was free to meet.

Over the next few days, I prepped for interviews by day and organized documents by night: the deed, transfer records, the loan note, credit card statements, and vehicle registration.

I even found the exact date my mother’s dress was taken from the smart lock history.

I created a new folder for it all.

I named it in a single word.