My mom died in a car accident\u2014one moment she was here, the next she wasn\u2019t. She was the first person I told good news to and my late-night meme buddy. She was the voice that told me I could handle things when I wasn\u2019t sure I could.<\/p>\n
A year later, my dad invited me to dinner with \u201cjust you, me, and Lena.\u201d Lena was my aunt\u2014Mom\u2019s twin, who\u2019d been helping out a lot. When I arrived, everything looked exactly like Mom had just cleaned it. Lena even wore my mother\u2019s apron. Dinner was polite, but uncanny.<\/p>\n
Then Dad told me they were engaged. Lena had been living with him for months. I was stunned.<\/p>\n
In the weeks that followed, Lena was everywhere, praised for \u201cstepping in.\u201d People said Mom would\u2019ve wanted it, but I wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n
At a pre-wedding party, my grandmother pulled me aside and showed me old photos and Lena\u2019s journals. Over time, Lena had begun copying my mom\u2014hair, mannerisms, even how she cared for Dad. After Mom died, her texts showed Lena wasn\u2019t comforting Dad so much as replacing Mom.<\/p>\n
I rushed back to the ceremony and stopped it, exposing Lena\u2019s behavior. Dad paused the wedding. For the first time since Mom died, I spoke the truth.<\/p>\n
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