I shook my head.
"No. You didn't tell me because you were afraid."
He lowered his head.
"Yes."
I felt tears gathering.
"First you hid that you were Nicholas. Now you're telling me you knew my blindness might have been caused by something other than the fall."
"I was trying to find the truth."
"Without giving me a choice."
He looked at me helplessly.
"Sarah, I wanted to fix what I'd done."
"You wanted to fix your guilt."
The words hurt him.
I could see that.
But I couldn't take them back.
He reached toward my hand.
I pulled away.
"Tell me one thing," I whispered. "Did your family have anything to do with that second procedure?"
Nigel froze.
His silence answered before his words did.
"My father," he said slowly, "was the medical director of that hospital."
The room seemed to tilt.
"What?"
"Dr. Charles Rowan. He oversaw the ophthalmology department."
