My hand tightened around the phone.
“You had no right.”
“No,” Victoria said. “I didn’t.”
The admission took me by surprise.
She continued, “But I was afraid. Your father had just been hospitalized. Two of our businesses were under investigation. People were asking questions about you, about Evelyn, about every person close to the family. I thought distance would keep her safe.”
“You sent her away with no support.”
“I arranged support.”
Evelyn turned sharply.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria’s voice changed when she heard her. It became softer, but not warmer.
“I paid the first year of your apartment in Cambridge. I arranged for a private physician to monitor you during the pregnancy. I gave money to the family resource center where you later found work.”
Evelyn stared at the phone as though Victoria were standing in the room.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I never received money from you.”
