My heart began pounding.
“What kind of nonsense?”
“Old financial records. Your mother’s diaries. Things that should have stayed buried.”
Things that should have stayed buried.
He realized the mistake too late.
“Dad,” I whispered, “what did you do?”
His breathing changed.
When he spoke again, the warmth had vanished.
“Where is Ben?”
“Taking me to see the babies.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
It was the voice he had used when I was a teenager, the one that made obedience feel like safety.
But I was no longer sixteen.
“What did you do to Mom?”
Ben stepped closer.
My father exhaled.
“You’re upset. I’m coming to the hospital.”
“No.”
“You should not be alone with him.”
