Then I remembered Dad’s warning.
“Why didn’t he want Natalie to know?”
Priya chose her words carefully.
“Your father asked me to make sure the inheritance was clearly established as your separate property before it was disclosed.”
“Why?”
“He was concerned that if information spread too soon, the situation could become unnecessarily complicated.”
I thought about Natalie standing in the kitchen.
**This is our house.**
The same house Dad had helped us buy.
I thought about how quickly she had dismissed him when he needed help.
How offended she had been that I gave him $1,000.
Dad hadn’t accused her of anything.
He had simply paid attention.
An hour later, the surgeon came through the doors.
“Your father made it through.”
My knees nearly gave out.
The repair had been difficult, but Dad was stable.
The next morning, I sat beside his hospital bed.
He was pale and exhausted.
