“If you do this, we are done,” Kelsey said. “I will never speak to you again.”

“You already said you hated me, Kelsey,” I said. “The threat doesn’t have the weight you think it does.”

Harold spoke quickly, his voice tight with desperation. “The judge will order the sale anyway, Meredith. You can’t stop the partition.”

“We’ll see what Judge Whitaker says tomorrow,” I said.

I reached out and ended the call on Kelsey’s dashboard console.

The screen went black, leaving only the amber glow of the instrument panel.

Kelsey stared at the empty screen, her mouth open.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she whispered.

“Go home, Kelsey,” I said. “Get a lawyer of your own. You’re going to need one.”

I stepped back from the SUV.

I slammed the passenger door shut.

The heavy thud echoed through the trees.

Kelsey sat there for a long moment, her headlights cutting into the dark woods.

Then, she shifted the vehicle into reverse.

The tires spun on the wet gravel, spitting stones against my porch stairs as she backed down the driveway.