Then:
People are asking questions. Please don’t make this bigger than it is.
At three, Cynthia sent a message.
Ella sweetheart, marriage is difficult, especially for girls without much family guidance. Come home and we’ll talk privately. Elias loves you deeply. Don’t let insecurity ruin your blessing.
I showed it to Rebecca.
She read it and gave a humorless smile. “Girls without much family guidance. Interesting choice.”
“My mother’s been gone five years,” I said.
“I know.”
Something cold moved through me, calmer than anger.
Cynthia had hugged me at the wedding with tears in her eyes. She had worn lilac silk and told my aunt she hoped I would finally feel like I had a mother again.
Now I understood. She had not been offering love.
She had been measuring an empty chair.
That evening, Rebecca came to my room with a folder.
“We found something in the apartment documents.”
