Page 151 of Taken Away

A lifetime carefully organized.

Aubrey lowered herself onto the floor.

The first few folders held ordinary things.

Property records. Insurance paperwork. Old photographs.

Then she found one labeled:

LANGFORD

Her stomach tightened.

She assumed it was about her.

Curious, she opened it.

The first page stopped her cold.

University of Pennsylvania.

Aubrey frowned.

The next pages were worse.

Tuition statements. Housing invoices. Book reimbursements.

Penn.

A memory surfaced instantly.

Seventeen years old.

Acceptance letter in her hands.

Sitting across from Ted at the kitchen table.

“Dad, there’s no way.”

“Sure there is.”

“It’s Penn.”

“I know.”

“We can’t afford Penn.”

Ted hadn’t even looked up from his coffee.

“You’re going.”

She remembered arguing.

For weeks.

Community college. State school. Anything cheaper.

Ted had refused every option.