When Jason’s estranged parents show up demanding the house he left behind, Alice is thrust into a battle she never expected. Grieving and determined, she agrees to consider their claim, but only if they can answer the one question that haunted Jason until his final days.There are moments in life that change everything, and for Jason and me, that moment happened when we were 17. I’ll never forget the day he showed up at my door, eyes red from crying, with nothing but a backpack and a broken heart.His parents had thrown him out like he was nothing, without even giving him a proper reason. My mom didn’t even hesitate; she took one look at him and knew. From that day on, he was part of our family. We leaned on each other through all the awkward years of high school and the stress of college. I went into HR because, well, people are complicated, and I liked figuring them out. Jason?
He was a genius with computers, always able to make sense of the things I couldn’t.We were a team, balancing each other out perfectly. Then, four years ago, life hit us with the worst blow imaginable.Jason was diagnosed with bone cancer. It was like the universe decided we’d had too many good years, and it was time to even the score. But even then, we stayed strong. I picked up more hours, handled the mortgage on the house Jason had bought, and kept us going. And Jason, in his quiet, stubborn way, held onto this hope that maybe his parents would come around. But they didn’t.Jason’s funeral was barely a month ago, and I was still drowning in the grief of it all when his family came knocking. The very people who had abandoned him when he needed them most were now standing on my doorstep like they had every right to be there. I remember opening the door, my heart in my throat,
