Both remained silent.
“She told me that…” My voice shook. I stabilized. “She claimed you lied. That you duped her into giving me up.”
My mother shakily breathed, and the sound of pain made my stomach twist.
“Emma,” she said. “That is absolutely not true.”
“Then why did she say it?” I requested.
Dad inhaled slowly through his nose, attempting to be calm.
“Because she knew it would get to you.”
Shaking my head.
“You don’t know that.”
“Emma, we do,” my mom said, her eyes still wet. “We anticipated this day. We didn’t expect this.”
I resisted her hand. She flinched like I hit her.
“I just…” Swallowed the lump in my throat. “She wants to know me. Maybe I want to know her too.”
Silence.
Suffocatingly heavy.
“What exactly are you saying, Emma?” my dad asked.
“I told her I’d stay with her for a week.”
The sound my mother made was barely audible. Like a sharp inhale before crying.
Dad sat up taller, clenching his jaw.
“A week,” he repeated.
I nodded.
“Please.”
Mom: “Emma, please, my girl.” Listen to us. Avoid going.”
“I’ve always listened to you. Please let me work this out.”
Dad breathed quietly yet firmly. Go, Emma. Just once, she left you. Think about that before leaving.”
“I’ll callyou,” I muttered.
Mom choked on her tears.
“Yeah, you do that,” dad said.
So I joined her.
Sarah’s home wasn’t. It was mansion. A bloodied mansion. Who knew?
Marble floors. Castle-like chandeliers. A movie-like majestic stairway that curved toward the second floor.
“This could be yours,” she said, emotional. “We can have the life we were meant to have.”
Painful guilt wrenched inside me.
Was this taken by my parents? Was she taken from me?
As promised to my parents, I stayed a week. Just to see.
But the truth found me quickly.
The next day, a woman stopped me outside the mansion.
“You must be Emma,” she replied, observing me.
Answer: “Yes. Who’re you?” I hesitated.
“I’m Evelyn,” she exhaled. “I live next door.”
A break.
“She didn’t tell you? Sarah?”
A chill raced down my spine.
“Tell me what?”
Evelyn’s lips were thin.
That she never defended you. That no one duped her into handing you up. Because she wanted to.”
My stomach twisted, and I felt dread and anxiety again.
That’s false. I answered hastily, “No way.
Evelyn didn’t blink.
“I knew your granddad well. I knew her well. I was present throughout…”
Swallowed hard.
“She told me… not that.”
“What, honey? She said she was young and scared?” Evelyn intervened. That she regretted? That she cried daily for you? She felt a heartache after you left?”
I nodded.
Evelyn grew stern.
Em, she partied. She partied hard. She spent all her money. She considered you a burden when she got pregnant. In an instant, her life changed drastically.”
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