They banned me from the family reunion like I was a stain they needed to scrub out. And now I’m sitting in a rental car, watching my mother lead the pack up the driveway of the beach house she thinks is a lucky rental. She enters the code I set myself. They haul in coolers and confidence, oblivious that the deed has my LLC on it. I’ll let them settle in for twenty minutes before I remind them who really holds the keysMy name is Skyla Morales, and right now I am invisible. I am sitting in the driver’s seat of a rented silver sedan with tinted windows, parked just far enough away to be mistaken for a neighbor’s guest but close enough to see the sweat glistening on my mother’s forehead. The engine is off. The air conditioning died five minutes ago, and the Georgia heat is already starting to press against the glass like a heavy, wet blanket. It’s ninety degrees in Seabrook Cove today, with humidity that makes the air feel thick enough to drink.

I don’t mind the heat. The heat keeps me focused. It reminds me that I am real, even if the people currently invading my property believe I have ceased to exist.Through the windshield, I watch the caravan arrive. It’s a spectacle of entitlement. Three large SUVs pull into the driveway of the pristine three-story beach house that sits proudly against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean. The house is a beauty, if I do say so myself. I spent six months renovating it, choosing every slat of the siding and every tile in the master bath. It stands tall, painted a soft, dusty blue that mimics the twilight sky, with white trim that gleams under the midday sun.

It looks expensive. It looks exclusive. It looks like exactly the kind of place my family feels they deserve, despite never having worked hard enough to earn it.