My throat closed.
Thomas continued, gently, as if he was offering tea.
“I put fresh flowers there every Tuesday. Mr. James said flowers make Ben happy in heaven.”
I turned to Maggie, pleading without words.
“James built a memorial,” she said softly. “By the lake.”
The lake.
The place I never went back to.
The place that broke me so completely I rebuilt my life around avoiding it.
“I can’t,” I whispered, stepping backward. “I need to go.”
But Thomas held my hand—warm, steady, unafraid.
“Don’t be scared, Mrs. Mitchell,” he said. “The lake is friendly now.”
Then he added something that made my stomach drop:
“It teaches children to swim so they don’t go to heaven too early like Ben did.”
I heard an engine in the distance.
Dust rose on the road.
A black SUV came fast.
And before I could decide whether I wanted help or to be alone, my eldest son climbed out.
Michael.
He had followed me after all.
“Mom,” he called. “What the hell is going on? Who are these people?”
Maggie turned toward him.
Her calmness didn’t break.
“Your father’s legacy,” she said. “And you must be Michael. He spoke of you often.”
Michael’s face darkened.
“This property is being sold. These people need to be evicted. Immediately.”
And that’s when Maggie said the sentence that changed everything:
“Your father gave us permission. For the past thirty years.”
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