When my mother passed, she left me her most treasured place: a peaceful lake house where we had shared summers full of painting, pancakes, and quiet mornings by the water. It became sacred to me, a refuge where I felt closest to her memory. I never let anyone else use it, making sure it stayed just as she had left it. My father eventually remarried, and his new wife, Carla, often dismissed my mom’s lifestyle in subtle, mocking ways. Still, I never imagined she would cross a line with the lake house itself.