She asked for a copy of the estate accounting later, feeling guilty even as she typed the message, like she was being suspicious of her own sister, like she was being small at the wrong moment. Diane said she’d send it. A few days later, a vague spreadsheet arrived that explained almost nothing.
The house on Carver Street had sold for $338,000. Sarah knew this because the listing was still cached online. The spreadsheet showed estate proceeds of $284,000. The difference was logged as closing costs and fees. Sarah stared at the figure for a long time. Fifty-four thousand dollars is not a closing cost. It simply isn’t.