“I wanted to prevent a custody fight.”
“You created the secrecy that made one possible.”
“I know.”
The repetition disturbed me more than an argument would have.
“Why open the envelope tonight?”
“Because Clara called me after Marcus came to the office. She told me you had found Evelyn. I realized you might hear an incomplete version of what happened and blame the wrong person.”
“You mean you were afraid I would blame you.”
“I am not afraid of your blame, Adrian.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
For the first time, my mother’s voice lost its certainty.
“That I was wrong.”
No one spoke.
Victoria continued, “I spent years believing that control was the same as protection. Your father taught me that. I taught it to you. I thought if I managed every risk, nobody could take anything from us.”
Her voice thinned.
“But Evelyn and those children were never ours to manage.”
