“You ruined me to save him,” I said, my voice remarkably steady.

“You stole my tuition.”

“You stole my inheritance.”

“You stole everything grandmother left for me.”

“We did what we had to do to protect this family,” my father said.

“Brandon is your brother.”

“Brandon is a criminal,” I said.

Brandon shrank back against the wall.

He looked smaller than he ever had.

“Ava, please,” he muttered.

“They are going to kill me.”

“That is your problem, Brandon,” I said.

My father’s jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grind.

He looked down at the documents Arthur had laid out.

“You sign those papers, Dad, and I won’t press charges,” I said.

“You let me leave with what is rightfully mine.”

“And you can deal with Brandon’s mess on your own.”

My father laughed, a dry, bitter sound.

“You think you are so smart, Ava.”

“You think this old man can protect you?”

He pointed a finger at Arthur.

Arthur did not flinch.

He calmly reached into his coat pocket.

He pulled out his phone.

He checked the screen, then set it face-up on the table.