The morning of the family meeting arrives, my mind a whirl of anxiety.
We gather around the dining table, the same table that held those mysterious papers.
The air is thick with unspoken words.
My husband flips through some documents, his face a mask of concentration.
My daughter sits quietly, her eyes focused on the table, avoiding my gaze.
I clear my throat, trying to dispel the suffocating silence.
“Should we start?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes,” my husband replies curtly, not meeting my eyes.
There’s a pause, a moment where the silence stretches, taut and unyielding.
My daughter shifts in her seat, her fingers tracing the edge of a paper.
