Chapter 5: What Synthia Said
I told Andrew that night.
He listened without interrupting, which meant he was angry.
Andrew only went that still when he was working hard to stay calm.
"She was there for one hour," he said when I finished.
"One hour, sitting on our floor, holding Liam's bear.
And Synthia walked it back in three days."
"She didn't walk it back completely," I said.
"That's what makes it harder.
She kept the apology.
She just added conditions to it."
"Protecting me financially from our children." His voice was flat.
"From Amara and Liam."
"That's what she said."
He stood up from the table.
"I'm calling her."
"Andrew —"
"Not to fight.
To be clear." He picked up his phone.
"Because if Synthia is going to sit in the background and undo every step my mother takes forward, I want my mother to hear from me directly that it isn't welcome."
He called Gloria.
She picked up on the second ring.
I could only hear his side, but I didn't need to hear hers.
"Mom.
I know you talked to Synthia." A pause.
"I'm not calling to argue about what you said to Hannah.
I'm calling because I want to ask you something directly.
Do you believe that Amara and Liam are a threat to this family?"
A longer pause.
"That's not what I asked.
I asked what you believe." Another pause.
"Then I need you to think about who is putting those words in your head and why.
Because the children in this house have never done a single thing to hurt you.
And the person who keeps finding reasons for you to doubt them has never spent one hour on our floor."
He hung up.
The kitchen was quiet.
"She didn't answer the question," I said.
"No." He set the phone down.
"She deflected.
Which means Synthia has been at this longer than three days."
I thought about the welcome party.
Synthia arriving with Gloria.
Synthia laughing first.
Synthia saying the part about trauma stories while Gloria said the part about fake grandchildren — a clean division of cruelty, like they'd practiced it.
"They came together that day," I said slowly.
"To the welcome party.
Gloria didn't just bring a friend.
They planned what they were going to say."
Andrew turned to look at me.
"You think Synthia drove it."
"I think Gloria was already uncertain.
And Synthia made certain she stayed that way." I paused.
"And now that Gloria is wavering — now that she sat on our floor and held Liam's bear and felt something real — Synthia is pulling her back."
Andrew sat down again.
"What do we do?"
"We don't chase Synthia," I said.
"We don't call her.
We don't confront her.
We let Gloria make her own choice." I looked at him.
"But we stop pretending Synthia is just a friend with opinions.
She's been working against this family since before we even brought the kids home."
Andrew nodded slowly.
His phone lit up on the table.
A text from Gloria.
*I need to think.
I'll call you in a few days.*
He showed it to me.
I read it twice.
"She's choosing," I said.
May you like
"Yes," he said.
We didn't know yet which way.
