Lena sat by the window, staring out at the sunset as the colors bled into the sky. The world outside seemed so peaceful, so unchanged, but inside, her heart was a battlefield. She had always known family was complicated, but nothing had prepared her for the shift she saw in her brother, Sam.

Growing up, they were inseparable. Every memory she had of childhood was colored by his presence—long summers by the lake, secret handshakes, whispered confessions under the covers at night. They had been a team, as close as two people could be, weathering the storms of their parents’ arguments and celebrating each small victory together.

But then, life had moved on. Sam married, had kids, and his world began to shift. Lena, too, had her own family now, a husband and two young children, but it wasn’t just the passage of time that had changed things. It was the jealousy, the tension that had started to hang between them like a thick fog.

She first noticed it after Sam’s promotion at work—a long-awaited dream come true. While Lena had celebrated his...