"Did you arrange the playground accident?"
She didn't answer.
"Mom."
Her eyes filled.
"Mara, you need to understand."
My heart broke.
Those words again.
*You need to understand.*
I had spent my entire life being told to understand other people's secrets.
This time, I wanted an answer.
"Did you?"
She began crying.
"Yes."
The room went silent.
I felt as though the floor had vanished beneath me.
My own mother.
The woman who'd kissed my forehead every night.
The woman who'd told me she would never let anything hurt me.
She had arranged for someone to push me from a swing.
"Why?" I whispered.
Mom covered her face.
"We were drowning in debt."
I stared at her.
"Money?"
She nodded desperately.
"Your father and I were in trouble. The hospital research sponsor approached me. They said the treatment was revolutionary."
I shook my head.
"So you arranged for me to get hurt?"
