Chapter 10 - Nora Had Already Answered
Gabriel remembered a disagreement.
Nora in the bedroom.
Marlene leaving with her jaw tight.
When he asked about it, Nora had said, “Your mom thinks helping means deciding.”
He had kissed her forehead and promised to handle it.
Then a specialist called.
Then there was another appointment.
Another difficult night.
He had forgotten.
Nora hadn’t.
Lena requested the trust’s early correspondence.
Two days later, an email from Nora appeared in the records.
Gabriel recognized the short paragraphs immediately.
She used to type with one hand while holding Amelia with the other.
The message explained that she did not approve a proposed payment arrangement involving Marlene.
She wanted support services provided by qualified people whose work could be verified.
One sentence held Gabriel still.
Amelia should never have to feel grateful for being cared for.
He read it aloud to Lena.
Then he stopped talking.
Attached was a copy of Marlene’s proposed budget.
The amount wasn’t identical to the later invoices.
The idea was.
A steady stream of money in exchange for broad claims about helping Amelia.
“Nora refused,” Gabriel said.
Lena nodded.
“That matters.”
Marlene had waited until Nora could no longer answer.
Then she had put Gabriel’s signature where his wife’s consent should have been.
That evening, Gabriel opened the small box of letters Nora had left for Amelia.
He had been saving them for milestones.
Birthdays.
Graduation.
A wedding, maybe.
He found one marked:
For a day when you forget how loved you are.
He sat beside Amelia on her bed.
“Mom left something.”
Amelia touched the envelope.
“For me?”
“All for you.”
He read slowly.
Nora wrote about Amelia lining up stuffed animals for checkups.
About her crooked laugh.
About the way she apologized to furniture after bumping into it.
There was nothing grand about the letter.
That made it more powerful.
It sounded like her.
At the end, Nora had written:
You were never too much for me, baby. You were my girl.
Amelia took the page.
“Can I keep it out?”
“Anywhere you want.”
She placed it beside the music box.
Downstairs, Gabriel’s phone lit up.
An email from Marlene.
Subject: A way to end this.
She offered to return part of the money if he withdrew his accusations.
Then came the condition.
Amelia needed to admit she had exaggerated.
Gabriel forwarded it to Lena without replying.
A minute later, another message arrived.
May you like
This one was from Bryce.
Uncle Gabe, I have something on my old phone.
