But something else was becoming clear.
Nicholas had been a child manipulated by adults.
He was responsible for pushing me.
Yet he hadn't understood the scheme surrounding that push.
The deeper betrayal had come from the people who were supposed to protect us both.
***
That evening, my mother came to the house.
I had been discharged from the hospital two days earlier and was learning how to navigate a world that suddenly had shapes, colors, and faces.
I stood in the living room when she arrived.
For the first time, I watched her walk through my front door.
She smiled.
"Sweetheart!"
Then she saw Dad sitting beside the fireplace.
Her smile vanished.
"Gabriel."
He stood.
"Celia."
She looked toward Nigel.
Then toward me.
Something in her expression changed.
"Mara, what's going on?"
I held up the research documents.
Her face went pale.
"Where did you get those?"
I stared at her.
