Behind her, Edward suddenly pushed his chair backward.
“Mom, don’t.”
That was the first time he had sounded afraid.
Margaret dialed a number she had known for years.
Once.
Twice.
A woman answered.
“Hello?”
Margaret looked directly at Linda.
“Gabriella,” she said quietly.
Edward’s face drained of color.
Linda’s smile disappeared.
“Who’s Gabriella?”
Edward said nothing.
Margaret tightened her grip on the receiver as Gabriella’s voice came through the line.
“Margaret, are Edward and Linda there?”
“They are.”
A long pause followed.
Then Gabriella asked the question that made Linda slowly put down her spoon.
“Has Edward told Linda about the documents Anthony left with me?”
Linda turned toward her husband.
“What documents?”
Edward took one step toward his mother.
“Please, Mom.”
Margaret stared at him.
For three days, he had allowed his wife to treat Margaret like a trespasser inside her own home.
But now, suddenly, he wanted the conversation to stop.
Gabriella spoke again.
“Before we continue, I need to know something. Has anyone asked Margaret to sign over the house?”
Margaret looked at Linda.
