"I thought it would be a small injury!"
Her voice rose.
"They said you would receive treatment immediately. They told me you might even benefit from the experimental procedure."
I stared at her in horror.
"You traded my safety for money."
She began sobbing.
"I never thought you'd go blind."
"But you knew there was a risk."
She didn't answer.
I stepped backward.
For twenty years, I'd believed my mother was the person who understood my suffering better than anyone.
Now I was looking at the woman whose choices had helped create it.
"And the settlement?" I whispered.
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
"Four million eight hundred thousand dollars. Money that was supposed to help me."
She lowered her head.
"Some of it paid for your care."
"And the rest?"
She began crying harder.
"I used it to establish the foundation."
I stared at her.
"The charity?"
"Yes."
"Without telling me?"
