For several seconds, the line was silent except for distant orchestral music.
Then my mother spoke in a voice I recognized from childhood.
It was the voice she used whenever a servant broke something expensive or I disappointed her in front of guests.
“You ungrateful little girl, everything you’ve ever enjoyed came from this family, and I can take it all away.”
Something inside me finally stopped hurting.
Not because her words had become less cruel, but because I understood they no longer controlled my future.
“Then take it away,” I answered.
I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end.
“What did you say?”
“I said take whatever you think belongs to you, Mother, because none of it is worth Leo’s life.”
David reached across the bed and rested his hand against my shoulder.
My mother gave a furious little laugh.
“That mechanic has turned you against your own blood, hasn’t he?”
