“He told me the baby would never be born.”
My stomach twisted.
Rose said Thomas had threatened her.
Followed her.
Paid someone at the hospital to report when she went into labor.
Harold and Helen—my mother—had known.
The night of the fire, Rose believed someone had started it deliberately.
“In the confusion, Helen took you.”
“Why Helen?”
“Because she
had already lost a baby.”
My eyes widened.
Rose nodded.
“She had given birth to a little girl six months earlier.
Stillborn.”
I looked at Evelyn.
She hadn’t known that part.
“Helen wanted a child,” Rose whispered.
“And I wanted mine alive.”
“So you gave me to her?”
“For one night.”
My throat tightened.
“One night?”
“I was supposed to come back.”
“What happened?”
Rose’s eyes filled.
“Thomas found me.”
The room went still.
“He had me committed.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He had connections.
