At 5:06 a.m., my sister walked into the house I bo…

My phone buzzed on the counter.

Then again. Then again. The family group chat lit up so fast it looked like an alarm system.

My aunt Marsha told me not to be dramatic. Cousin Emily said blood should support blood. Uncle Doug asked why I was forcing Christina to beg for what was already supposed to stay in the family.

Someone wrote, “It’s only a house, Michelle.”

Someone else added, “Stop humiliating your sister.”

I looked up from the screen very slowly. Somebody had planned this. Somebody had called everyone before they walked through my front door.

Jonathan took a manila folder from under his arm and set it on the counter with the solemnity of a priest placing an offering on an altar. The first page showed signatures at the bottom. My mother’s.

My father’s. A notary stamp. County formatting.