Chapter 1

It was a Tuesday afternoon when everything changed. I'd just gotten home from Millfield High, tossing my backpack onto that rickety chair by the door that looked ready to fall apart any second.

Grandma was at the kitchen sink, washing dishes with her shoulders hunched over like always. Her hands were covered in age spots that seemed too dark for someone her age, but then again, everything about Grandma seemed older than it should be.

"How was school, honey?" she asked without turning around, her voice so quiet it was like she was afraid to disturb the air.

"Same as always." I grabbed an apple from the counter, noticing it was a little soft. We always bought the fruit that was about to go bad because it was cheaper.

The apple reminded me of Grandma, actually. It looked okay on the outside, but something was rotting on the inside. Not her fault, though. It was this house. This family. Fifty-five years of being squeezed dry, day after day.

Grandpa Earl sat in his usual spot on the torn couch, surrounded by empty beer cans, watching some daytime talk show. He'd been wearing the same stained undershirt for three days straight.

"Maggie!" he bellowed. "Where's my dinner? It's almost four o'clock!"

"Coming, Earl." Grandma's whole body tensed up, and her hands started moving faster at the sink.

I hated watching this. Hated how she jumped like a scared rabbit every time he opened his mouth. But I also knew that if I said anything, things would only get worse for her.

That's when Uncle Daryl emerged from the back room, reeking of motor oil. He was in his late thirties and still living with his parents because his part-time mechanic job couldn't even support himself, let alone his own family.

"Mom, I need twenty bucks," he said to Grandma like she owed him money.

"Daryl, I don't have any today—"

"Don't give me that crap. I saw you bring home that Walmart paycheck yesterday."

That's when the phone rang.

We hardly ever got phone calls except from debt collectors, so everyone stopped what they were doing when that old landline started ringing.

"Maggie Johnson?" The voice on the other end sounded professional, expensive.

"Yes, this is she." Grandma's voice got careful and quiet, but I noticed something else. Her back straightened up a little.

"Mrs. Johnson, this is David Harrison from Harrison & Associates law firm in New York. We've been trying to reach you regarding a DNA verification that's now complete."

DNA verification? When did that start? And Grandma... she didn't look confused. She looked like she'd been waiting for this call.

"I see," she said, and her voice was suddenly much steadier. "And the results?"

"The results are conclusive, Mrs. Johnson. You are indeed Magnolia Ravenscroft, daughter of Harrison and Victoria Ravenscroft. We're ready to proceed with the formal recognition process."

The whole trailer went dead silent. Even Earl turned down the TV volume.

"I understand," Grandma said, and I swear she sounded... prepared. "What are the next steps?"

"We'd like to arrange for you and your family to fly to New York tomorrow. The Ravenscrofts are very eager to meet their daughter."

Just then, Aunt Brandi walked in from her shift at the nail salon, catching the tail end of the conversation.

"What's going on?" she asked, her eyes darting between all of us.

Daryl rushed over and grabbed the phone from Grandma. "Hey buddy, this is Daryl, Maggie's son. Did you say something about money?"

Grandma gently took the phone back. "Mr. Harrison, my family is... excited. We'll speak tomorrow about the details."

After she hung up, Daryl immediately pounced. "Mom, what the hell was that about? DNA? New York?"

Grandma turned to face all of us, and there was something different about her. Still gentle, but... stronger somehow.

"That was a lawyer from New York," she said. "They've confirmed that I'm... that I'm not who we thought I was."

An hour later, we were all sitting in the living room, and the whole atmosphere had changed. The lawyer had explained that they'd send cars tomorrow to take us to the airport, then fly us to New York to meet Grandma's "biological parents."

Biological parents. Fifty-five years old and just finding out who her real family was. I kept picturing baby Grandma being mixed up at the hospital, handed over to Earl's family by mistake. It explained so much about why she was so different from everyone else, why she stayed gentle even when things got really bad.

But now the Johnson family smelled bood in the water.

"So, Maggie," Earl started in this fake-sweet voice that made me want to throw up, "we need to talk about how we're gonna handle this windfall."

"Windfall?" Grandma repeated.

"Yeah, you know, I'm your husband. Thirty-eight years. I should get half, right?"

Thirty-eight years of what? Thirty-eight years of treating her like free help?

Daryl jumped right in. "And I'm her son! I should get at least thirty percent. Plus, I've been taking care of her all these years."

I almost laughed out loud. Taking care of her? He couldn't even take care of himself.

Brandi wasn't about to be left out. "Well, as Daryl's wife and the mother of your grandson, I think we should discuss lifestyle upgrades. I mean, if we're gonna be rich, we need to look the part, right?"

That's when my sixteen-year-old cousin Brayden came out of his room. He had his headphones around his neck and his eyes glued to his phone screen, totally absorbed in some game.

"What's all the noise about?" he asked without looking up.

"Your grandmother just found out she's a millionaire," Brandi said excitedly.

Brayden's head snapped up, and his eyes lit up with pure greed. "Seriously? How much?"

"We don't know yet, but enough to change all our lives," Daryl said.

"Cool. I want a new gaming setup. Like, the whole thing—PS5, Xbox, custom PC, those VR goggles." He was already pulling up shopping websites on his phone. "And a bigger room. This place is cramped."

I stared at Brayden, then thought about myself. We were born the same year, but we might as well be from different planets. His first thought was about what he could get. Mine was just hoping Grandma wouldn't get torn apart by these vultures.

"Brayden," I said, "maybe you should ask Grandma what she wants first."

He gave me this completely blank look. "Why? It's family money now, right?"

Earl nodded approvingly. "Kid's got a point. Maggie, you need to understand this isn't just about you anymore. We're family. We should all benefit."

Grandma listened quietly to everyone's demands.

But now I could see something I'd missed before. She wasn't overwhelmed or confused. She was... cataloging everything. Taking mental notes.

"Earl," she said, her voice smooth as honey, "thirty-eight years of marriage. That certainly deserves... recognition."

"Damn right it does."

"Daryl, you want a position in the company? Something with real responsibility?"

"Yeah! Like, VP level? CEO?"

"Oh, I think we can arrange something even better than that."

There was something in her tone when she said "even better." Something that made me think of a cat talking to mice.

"Brandi, you want the full lifestyle experience?"

"Yes! Everything! I want to live like those Real Housewives!"

"Consider it done. You'll have access to everything you've ever dreamed of."

"Brayden, all the latest technology?"

"Hell yeah!"

"You'll have more technology than you know what to do with."

Finally, she looked at me. "And what about you, Sage? What do you want?"

Everyone was staring at me. This felt like a test, but I couldn't tell what kind.

"I just want you to be happy, Grandma," I said. "And I want to know what really happened two months ago."

The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees. Everyone went stiff.

"What do you mean?" Earl's voice was suddenly sharp.

"Two months ago, when Brayden needed that blood transfusion and Grandma disappeared for a few days. We thought she was dead."

Brayden rolled his eyes impatiently. "That was nothing. I was hurt, I needed blood, she gave it. End of story."

"No," I insisted, "that's not the end of the story. Grandma, you almost died that day. They took so much blood you collapsed, and then they just... left you there."

I remembered that day clearly now. Brayden had fallen from a tree and needed emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. But Uncle Daryl and Aunt Brandi didn't want to pay for blood from the blood bank, so they just...

Grandma looked at me quietly, then she smiled. That smile made my spine tingle.

"Don't worry about the past, sweetheart," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "Let's focus on the future."

Then she turned to the others. "Earl, Daryl, Brandi, Brayden—whatever you want, I'll give you. I promise."

Everyone got excited and started planning their new rich lives. But I kept watching Grandma.

That smile. I'd never seen her smile like that before. For fifty-five years, her smiles had always been tired, defeated, or grateful. But this smile... this wasn't the smile of a broken woman.