Part 3: The Table
We didn’t confront Derek alone. Our parents’ anniversary dinner was already scheduled for that Tuesday, and Derek fully expected Claire to stay away, the same way she had for the last eight years.
She didn’t.
When Claire walked through my parents’ front door holding Owen’s hand, my mother stood up so fast her chair scraped hard across the floor. Ethan stared at Owen from across the room. For once, neither boy looked angry. They just looked confused — two kids trying to work out a puzzle the adults had built around them.
Derek came in from the hallway a second later. The moment he saw Claire standing there, all the color drained straight out of his face.
“She’s here to cause trouble,” he said, loud enough for the whole room.
Claire set the forged letter down on the table without a word.
I laid my medical records right beside it.
