So my mother remained hidden.
“Grandmother didn’t poison you,” I said.
“No. She saved me.”
Relief hit so violently that I had to grip the table.
“Then why the photograph?”
“She wanted anyone searching the hospital records to believe she was responsible. She planted false evidence around herself.”
A final layer of protection.
Even dead, my grandmother had been willing to be hated if it kept the truth alive.
Celeste stepped closer.
“I watched you from a distance when I was able. School plays. Graduation. Your wedding.”
“My wedding?”
Her face tightened.
“I begged your father to stop it.”
Adrian looked away.
“And you didn’t?”
“We had no proof Julian knew what his family had done.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So you watched me marry him.”
“We believed you were safer before the Mercers knew who you truly were.”
