She asked about it by text, keeping her tone careful and light. Diane called instead of replying. She said, “Sarah, you don’t understand how estate sales work. There are layers of costs that non-professionals always underestimate. You’ve contributed nothing to the process and should perhaps trust the person who has.”
Within days, however, the story changed—not the accounting, but what Diane was telling people. Their cousin Beth mentioned, delicately, that Diane had been describing Sarah as difficult since Ruth’s death. “Obsessive about money.” “Hard to deal with.” Sarah had asked one question about a spreadsheet. It had been retold as something ugly and deliberate.