Chapter 18 - THE DRAFT TEXTS
The biggest break came from cloud backups Natalie thought she deleted.
Texts with Mom.
Three months before Sophie disappeared.
Natalie:
Megan will never agree to guardianship.
Linda:
I don’t want guardianship.
Natalie:
You complain she dumps Soph here all the time.
Linda:
I complain because Megan acts like work is an emergency every week.
Natalie:
Then make her see what it’s doing.
Linda:
How?
Natalie:
Stop treating Sophie like a guest. Give her responsibilities. Megan will either step up or admit she needs you.
My stomach tightened.
Later:
Linda:
Sophie cried over laundry again.
Natalie:
Record next time.
Linda:
Why?
Natalie:
Because if we ever need to show she’s hard to manage, memories aren’t enough.
There.
Then:
Linda:
This feels ugly.
Natalie:
What’s ugly is Megan sitting on Adam’s millions while everyone else carries her.
The message made no logical sense.
I did not ask them to carry me.
But resentment rarely audits itself.
Next:
Natalie:
She needs to earn her place in this family instead of acting like she and Megan are above everyone.
Linda:
Don’t say that around kids.
Natalie:
They already know.
Sophie had heard.
More importantly, Linda had not invented the phrase alone.
My sister had supplied it.
Then the final text, one week before the incident:
Northstar wants direct interview.
Natalie:
We need Mom status sorted before then.
Linda:
I’m not taking Sophie away from Megan.
Natalie:
Temporary. Just until Megan gets her priorities straight.
Linda:
No.
Natalie:
Then at least document every refusal and meltdown.
My mother had resisted guardianship.
Good.
May you like
Then still participated in documentation.
Complicity arrived in gradients.
