My mother clutched her throat, staring at Dorian through the glass of the patrol car window.

Dorian was pressing his forehead against the glass, yelling words we couldn’t hear.

“This is a mistake,” my mother whispered.

“We have a buyer for the desert properties.”

“The deal closes in three days.”

“We need that money.”

“There is no deal,” I said.

“Mr. Voss has already filed an injunction to freeze the titles.”

My mother stared at me as if I had struck her.

“How could you do this to your own mother?” she asked.

“You’re choosing a dead man’s memory over your living family.”

“My father built everything you are currently spending,” I said.

“And you let Dorian steal it from him while he was dying.”

Brielle looked at her mother, her expression turning from anger to panic.

“Mom, what does she mean?” Brielle asked.

“The buyer in Dallas already sent the deposit.”

“I already bought the apartment in Austin.”

“Is the money gone?”

My mother didn’t answer her.

She just stared at me, her lips trembling.

The deputy started the patrol car engine.