“Rachel attacked her,” Daniel said, his voice gaining a desperate strength. “She put her hands on my daughter, Mom.”

Evelyn stared at Daniel, her expression hardening in a way he clearly didn’t expect.

“Are you stupid?” Evelyn asked.

Daniel blinked, his hands dropping slightly. “What?”

“I asked if you are stupid, Daniel,” Evelyn repeated, her voice sharp as a razor. “You let her leave over Ava’s nonsense?”

“It wasn’t nonsense!” Daniel protested. “Ava was crying. She had bruises on her wrist!”

“Ava has been lying since she was six years old!” Marcus snapped, turning his anger fully onto his brother now. “She threw a tantrum because Rachel wouldn’t buy her that car last month!”

“That’s not true,” Daniel stammered.

“It is true, and you know it!” Marcus yelled, his face inches from Daniel’s now. “You let that spoiled brat run your mouth, and now my business is going under!”

I watched them, my expression unchanged as the family dynamic fractured right on the gravel.

For years, I had listened to them praise Ava’s cleverness, laughing off her manipulation as “spirit.”