Her face crumpled.
“He said you wouldn’t know until we were already gone.”
Max reached for Sophie, but she tightened her arms around me.
“She misunderstood,” he said.
“Children repeat things.”
Sophie looked up at him.
“You told me not to tell Mom.”
Several guests lowered their eyes.
Grant put his phone away, but Max held out his hand.
“Give me that.”
“No,” Grant said quietly.
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean we need to speak privately.”
I lifted Lily into my arms while Edward stood between Max and the girls.
Sophie remained pressed against my side.
“You planned to take them away?” I asked.
“It was a possible move, not a plan.”
“Where?”
“Claire has opportunities in Arizona.”
Claire shook her head.
“I turned down that job two months ago.”
Max stared at her.
“Be quiet.”
“No.
You used my old job offer as an excuse?”
“You wanted a fresh start.”
“Not with someone else’s children hidden from their mother.”
Max pointed at me.
“This is what she does.
She turns everyone against me and then cries until somebody rescues her.”
My throat closed.
He knew exactly where to press.
“Tell them about the months you could barely leave the house,” he continued.
“Tell them about the medication.
Tell them how often I had to take care of everything.”
Sophie looked up at me.
“Dad said good mothers don’t need pills.”
My knees almost gave way.
Edward caught my elbow, but it was Claire’s mother, Ruth, who crossed the room first.
She was a small woman in a pale blue dress, and until then she had barely spoken.
“That is enough,” Ruth said.
Max scoffed.
“This is a family matter.”
“Yes.
Those girls are family, and you used a child’s love for her mother as a weapon.”
Ruth knelt in front of Sophie.
“Your mother needed help after your sister was born.
Good mothers ask for help when they need it.”
“Really?” Sophie whispered.
“Really.”
Sophie turned to me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were seven, sweetheart.
It was never your burden to carry.”
Her chin trembled.
“Dad said if I told the judge you cried a lot, we could live with him.”
I covered my mouth.
Edward crouched beside us.
“You don’t have to say anything for either parent,” he told her.
“Adults must tell the truth for themselves.”
Grant cleared his throat.
“Max, I strongly suggest we end this conversation.”
Instead, Max pulled a folded document from inside his jacket.
“I was going to wait until Monday, but perhaps now is the right time.”
He handed it to me.
It was a petition requesting temporary primary custody, supported by claims that I was emotionally unstable and introducing unsuitable men to the children.
“You planned this,” I said.
“I planned to protect my daughters.”
“From what?”
“From scenes like this.”
Edward stood.
“You created this scene.”
“And you’re the stranger pretending to sleep with their mother.”
My face burned, but Edward didn’t look away.
“I came because she was afraid to face you alone.
Now I understand why.”
Ruth took Lily from my arms and reached inside her handbag.
“I have something else you should see.”
Claire froze.
“Mom, don’t.”
Ruth held out Claire’s phone.
“You left it in the bridal suite.
Max sent another message while you were downstairs.”
Claire grabbed for it, but Ruth gave it to me.
“Read it,” she said.
The screen was already open.
A message from Max filled the center:
Once the vows are done, transfer the remaining $61,000.
She’ll never trace the trust.
I looked at Claire.
“What remaining money?”
