The key turned in the lock like it had been waiting for me.
Inside, a lamp glowed softly beside a sofa.
The air smelled faintly of lavender.
“Hello?” I called.
Footsteps came from the hallway.
A woman with silver hair stepped into view.
“You must be Rose’s granddaughter,” she said calmly.
“Yes,” I replied. “And you are?”
“Helen,” she said. “I helped your grandmother in her final months.”
“Helped her how?”
“I was her caregiver. And I helped with paperwork.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then why did she leave her house to Margaret?”
Helen studied me for a moment.
“Because she didn’t have the money to pay Margaret for helping her before I arrived,” she said gently. “The house was the only thing she had left to offer.”
She placed a thick folder on the coffee table.
“She made me promise to tell you something,” Helen said quietly.
“What?”
“That she never chose Margaret over you.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“She was terrified you’d believe that,” Helen continued.
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