I laughed—the kind of laugh that comes when you're too angry to do anything else.
"The storage room is barely fifty square feet. It doesn't even have a window. You expect me to sleep in there?"
Vivian strolled over with Leo on her hip, voice dripping with mock sweetness.
"No window? Then go sleep on the third floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows, plus a skylight in the ceiling. You can stargaze before bed."
Christine actually nodded along. "She's right, the third floor has a lovely view—"
I looked straight at her. "If the third floor is so wonderful, why don't we move Vivian up there instead?"
Christine waved her hands frantically.
"That won't work. There's no heating or air conditioning on the third floor—it's below freezing up there. It'll make Leo sick..."
The words were barely out before she realized her mistake. She clamped her mouth shut.
Dad shot her a withering glare, then turned to me with a softer expression.
"Lola, just bear with the toy room for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll make sure your sister-in-law moves out of your room."
Looking at his weary face, I felt my heart soften again.
But that night, I accidentally overheard a secret that shattered everything.
At two in the morning, I woke up needing to use the bathroom and shuffled groggily toward the shared restroom at the end of the hall.
As I passed the master bedroom, I caught the sound of hushed voices inside.
Christine. And my father.
"When are you going to make her leave? Vivian said today that if Lola doesn't move out, she's taking Leo back to her parents' house!"
"What's the rush?" Dad's voice was clipped, irritated. "These things take time."
"How can I not rush? Vivian's pregnant with her second! If all this stress causes complications, how are you going to explain that to your son?"
"And another thing—is the stuff you've been giving her not working? It's been over a week. She hasn't shown any symptoms at all."
Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.
Stuff? What stuff?
"Of course it's working." Dad's voice dropped even lower. "How do you think her mother went?"
I clamped both hands over my mouth. Mom—Mom died from organ failure after the car accident. That's what they told me.