The line went quiet. Not surprised. Caught. We both heard it. “You knew.”
“Your father made many mistakes.”
“She isn’t one of them.”
“I never said she was.”
“You told Ava you didn’t know who she was.”
“I’d never met her.” Her tone softened. It was a familiar strategy. “You don’t know what this woman wants.”
“She wants the trust Dad created for her.”
“There is no trust.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From my sister?”
“From someone using grief and biology to manipulate you.”
Ethan looked at me. The word biology hung in the air. Lorraine was rejecting Camille because of where she came from.
“Did Dad leave money for her?” Ethan asked.
