I allowed Corinne inside, but Blake stayed outside. At my kitchen table, she finally confessed everything. Odette had discussed my house for nearly a year, and eventually Blake started agreeing with her. Corinne knew about those conversations but never stopped them. Worse, she had secretly taken Italian lessons with Odette for months. She admitted she’d joined their cruel conversation because Odette had shown her warmth in a way I hadn’t since her father, Clement, died.

That truth hurt because she was right. After losing Clement, I’d buried myself in work. Whenever Corinne needed something, I sent money instead of giving her my time. I had paid her bills, covered her rent, and solved problems financially when what she really needed was her mother. We both cried when I finally admitted it. That afternoon, we made a new agreement: no monthly transfers and no more co-signing loans. Instead, Corinne would come for dinner every Sunday, and we’d actually talk. Then I placed something in her hand: a new key to my house.