Chapter 9: Twenty-Two Years of Mourning
“When?” Madeline screamed.
“Three months after the funeral.”
The room spun. Madeline grabbed the vanity for support.
“You let me mourn my child for twenty-two years?”
Richard’s voice broke. “I thought I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” she laughed bitterly through tears. “You let me believe my baby died!”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears too, though she still looked unable to process any of it.
“I grew up in an orphanage,” she whispered. “No one wanted me.”
Madeline made a sound that barely resembled human speech. A broken, devastated sound.
Richard stepped forward.
“Madeline, listen to me. Your father arranged it.”
Her head snapped toward him.
“What?”
Some betrayals come from enemies. The worst ones wear the face of family… Continue Reading ⬇️
