Dan stepped forward, his face hardening.

“Mom, stop,” he said.

“No, Daniel,” Juliette said.

“She wants to play business partner? Let her show her ledger.”

“She doesn’t have one,” Juliette continued, looking at me with triumph in her eyes.

“She’s trying to scare me into giving her money.”

“I am not trying to scare you, Juliette,” I said.

I looked at the closed door of the small pantry at the end of the hall.

Behind that door, under the stairs, was a small built-in desk.

It was the place where I kept the household budget, the tax files, and the old calendars.

“You think I’ve been doing nothing but pulling weeds,” I said softly.

“I’ve been watching,” I said.

“And I’ve been keeping track.”

Juliette stepped closer, her perfume clogging my throat.

“Show me,” she whispered, her eyes wide and mocking.

“Show me one single piece of paper that proves I owe you a dime.”

“If I show you,” I said, “you will sign the note.”

“Only if it’s real,” Juliette said, her voice tight.

“Which it isn’t.”

I looked at Dan.