In court, my stepmother swore and said, “She can’t handle this. She needs a guardian.” I remained calm. The judge took off her glasses and said, “You really don’t know who she is?” Her lawyer turned pale. My stepmother was speechless…

“I did.”

Mason snorted loudly. “Classic Ellie. Always pretending she’s smarter than everybody else.”

I turned slightly toward him. “No, Mason. I just stopped pretending you were.”

His smirk twitched.

Vivian leaned toward her lawyer while Mr. Bell whispered quietly, “Stay composed.”

I heard him.

I heard everything.

For months, they mistook my silence for weakness. They assumed grief had hollowed me out completely.

They never realized it sharpened me instead.

Inside my bag, beneath a folded scarf, rested a sealed envelope, a flash drive, and my father’s final letter.