“And you have to tell the DA that you do not want to pursue charges against Patricia,” he added.

“If you do that, Michael pays my debt, and the civil lawsuit against your license goes away,” Daniel said.

I stared at the framed medical degree on my wall.

I had worked eighty hours a week for a decade to earn that paper.

My family was using my brother’s safety to dismantle it in an afternoon.

“They are leveraging your life to buy my silence, Daniel,” I said.

“It’s just a signature, Liz,” Daniel pleaded. “Please.”

“I am your brother,” he said. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“It used to,” I said.

“If you don’t do this, they will let those people find me,” Daniel said, his voice rising in panic.

“Michael told me himself,” Daniel said. “He said if you won’t play ball, the family won’t protect me anymore.”

“He is using you as a shield, Daniel,” I said. “He doesn’t care about your debts.”

“He just wants to keep Patricia out of prison,” I said.