Kelsey snatched the door open, letting the cold mountain rain spray across the leather seats of her SUV.

She grabbed the phone from the cup holder.

I stood in the open doorway, the wind whipping wet hair across my face as the storm raged around us.

The screen showed three missed calls and a text from our father.

I could read the text clearly in the bright blue light.

*Trevor lied about the accounts. Call me now.*

Kelsey’s thumb trembled as she swiped the screen and pressed it to her ear.

“Dad?” she said, her voice shaking.

The rain drummed hard against the roof of the vehicle.

She pressed the speaker button with a trembling finger, her knuckles turning white.

“Kelsey, is Meredith there with you?” Harold’s voice came through the speaker, sounding thin and stripped of its usual authority.

“She’s right here,” Kelsey said. “What do you mean Trevor lied?”

In the background, I heard a faint, high-pitched sob.

It was our mother, Denise.

“He signed for the secondary loan using our equity,” Harold said, his voice cracking. “He told us it was just a formality to clear the title on the ridge.”