The sweet-tasting lavender blend he insisted on brewing to help with my stress.

I had been waking up groggy, with a metallic taste in my mouth, unable to focus at the clinic.

I thought it was just grief.

I thought I was burning out.

“Those drops are safe, right?” Pax asked. “We don’t need a medical investigation.”

“They are just over-the-counter herbal sedatives,” Rylan said. “Perfectly safe. Just enough to keep her foggy and compliant.”

“And if she starts asking questions about the bank transfers?” Solene asked.

“I will tell her she authorized them,” Rylan said. “I will tell her she wanted to invest in my mother’s new business venture. She won’t have the energy to fight it.”

I looked down at the folder in my hands.

Inside were the original deeds, the original will, and my grandmother’s handwritten notes about the house’s history.

I had the proof.

But I needed their voices.

I needed the police to hear what they were doing to me.

Slowly, carefully, I reached into my coat pocket.

My fingers brushed against the cold metal of my phone.