“I came here because it was time we got to know each other as sisters,” Dayana told her. “And no, I’m not changing my mind about Donald.”

“We’re all responsible for our own choices,” Dean told her. “I’m responsible for choosing not to settle down with Will, and thank God I did. Because look who I’m joining for a night of good wine around a firepit tonight? I could have missed out on Michael if I’d settled. But I chose. I made the decision. You didn’t force me into it or cast some spell shackling me to you.”

“Should we be offended that Maggie thinks we’re all incapable of making our own decisions?” Cody asked everyone.

“Yes,” Dean and Dayana agreed.

“Maybe you should think about what’s best for you instead of worrying about what you think is good for everyone else,” Cody suggested.

“He’s wise beyond his years,” Dayana observed.

“He gets that from me,” Dean announced proudly.

They grinned at each other.

“Part of Maggie’s problem is she’s constantly searching for stability in an unstable world,” Dayana posited.

“That makes sense,” Dean agreed. “She lost her mom so young and without warning. It makes her feel like everything can change in a heartbeat, so she clings to things like plans and goals and timelines to feel like she has control.”

“Life can change in a heartbeat,” Maggie said firmly. It had.

“And this relentless pursuit of financial security,” Dayana added. “Can you imagine what it was like for her, driving up to our father’s megamansion once a month? Being forced to spend time with ‘family’ who looked at her as some kind of interloper? Again I apologize for being an asshole. So she’s built a fortune on her own and substituted a million subscribers—strangers—as stand-ins for the family she deserves.”

“It’s a wonder she’s not more screwed up,” Cody said.

“I’m sitting right here,” Maggie said dryly.

“Good. Then you’ll hear us when we tell you you’ve built a life around clinging to the memory of one parent while rejecting another. Neither of which is necessarily wrong or even weird, given the situation,” Dean added when she opened her mouth to argue. “But at some point, don’t you need to put down the expectations of your parents and figure out what you want for yourself?”

“I’m going for a walk,” Maggie announced.

Maggie walked the property, following the trails Silas had blazed through the years of neglect. And when she still didn’t have the clarity she craved, she drove into town.

It wasn’t until she pulled into the parking lot of the senior living facility that she realized why she was there.

After a minute of small talk with the nurses at the front desk, Maggie found herself knocking on Wallace’s door.