My stomach tightened.
I did not want a dead woman's apology.
Did not want excuses.
Did not want to compete with someone who could no longer answer questions.
“I don't know.”
“That's fine.”
Nora paused.
“You decide.”
That word mattered now.
Two weeks later, I watched.
Not alone.
Ethan asked to be there.
Sophie too.
Max was too young for most of it, so he was at my sister's.
Ryan was not invited.
The video began with Lena sitting on a sofa.
Four years younger.
Pregnant.
Her face thinner than I remembered.
“Hi, Oliver.”
She smiled.
“If you're seeing this, something went wrong or your mother became extremely organized.”
She laughed.
Megan's laugh was similar.
That hurt.
Then Lena told Oliver about herself.
Music.
Bad cooking.
Photography.
How terrified she had been becoming a mother.
Then:
“There is something complicated about your father.”
I held my breath.
“His name is Ryan Bennett.”
