“I protected the assets, Robert,” I said. My voice was steady. “Just like your father asked me to do thirty-four years ago.”

There was a long silence. I could hear the wind in the trees, and maybe the sound of Dave walking away to his car.

“You can’t do this,” he whispered.

“I already did,” I said.

He had spent his whole life believing he was the king of the castle. He never realized he was just living in a house that I had been paying the taxes on, with a name I had been holding in trust the entire time.

I hung up the phone. I didn’t feel angry. I didn’t feel sad. I just felt clean.

I walked back inside and poured myself a cup of coffee. It was hot. For the first time in thirty-four years, I didn’t have to worry about who was drinking it.