“This is ridiculous. Lily, we’re leaving.”
Noah looked at me.
“It’s on your laptop.”
“You little brat.”
He was ten. He should never have needed to defend his sister from an adult.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
Vanessa moved toward the living room.
“You won’t show anyone anything.”
I blocked her path.
“Noah, show us.”
“Are you sure?”
He connected my laptop to the television.
The first photo showed 11-year-old Nora standing beside Mom at a birthday party.
Vanessa’s version appeared next to it.
Nora was gone.
The next showed Nora at a holiday dinner, but Vanessa’s copy ended at Dad’s shoulder.
Nora was gone.
More followed: a picnic, a birthday, and another vacation. They showed years of Nora standing in family photos before Vanessa cut her away.
Nora stared at the screen.
Her face crumpled.
Vanessa lunged for the cable.
I stepped in front of her.
“Move.”
“No.”
“Those are my pictures.”
“Move.”
“They’re pictures of my daughter.”
“You’re enjoying this, Audrey. You’re enjoying being the victim, aren’t you?”
“You sat at my table and told my daughter she ruined our family pictures.”
I pointed at the screen.
“You’re going to look at what you did to them.”
“I was protecting our family image.”
“That isn’t true,” Lily said.
Her voice was quiet, but everyone heard it.
Vanessa turned.
“Stay out of this, Lily!”
