A wound I had stopped acknowledging years ago suddenly opened.
“My mother told me he left.”
“He did.”
“Then how could he—”
“Because his family threatened her.”
I stared.
Eleanor explained.
The Vale family had money even then.
Not Marcus money.
Not empire money.
But enough power to intimidate a young single mother.
Thomas wanted to marry Laura.
His father refused.
When Thomas rebelled, he was cut off.
Then Laura became frightened that the Vale family might try to take custody of me.
So she left.
Thomas searched for us for years.
“He finally found your mother,” Eleanor said. “But by then she had remarried.”
“My stepfather.”
“Yes.”
“He was good to me.”
“I know.”
I frowned.
“How?”
“Thomas knew too.”
She touched the envelope.
“That’s why he didn’t interfere.”
Tears blurred my vision.
“He just disappeared?”
“He decided that loving you meant allowing you to have a stable father.”
