The engagement party was already loud when I pulled into the circular driveway of my vacation home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Strings of warm patio lights glowed against the water, and a rented white tent covered the lawn like a wedding rehearsal. My sister’s laugh carried across the deck—high, performative, the kind she used when she wanted an audience.

I parked, smoothed my black sweater, and told myself I was doing the mature thing. I’d let Madison use the house because Mom begged me to “keep the peace.” I’d even paid for the caterer, because it was easier than fighting.

The moment I stepped onto my own stone walkway, conversation thinned. Faces turned. Madison’s fiancé—Logan—looked at me like he was trying to place a waitress he’d tipped last week. Then my mother, Janet, strode toward me with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Madison followed, clutching her ring hand to her chest like a prop.

“You’re early,” Mom said. Her tone was wrong—too bright, too loud.

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