“Everything.”
Seraphina looked down at her hands.
“Our family was not always wealthy. The estate almost failed when I was twelve. My father borrowed money from people my mother never named. After he died, she took control and turned the vineyard into what it is now.”
“A successful business.”
“A successful appearance.”
Audrey felt a chill unrelated to the hospital room.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying my mother has spent twenty years making sure no one asks where the money came from.”
Audrey thought of the accounts, the shell companies, the public grants.
“Did Julian know?”
Seraphina’s silence answered before she did.
“He knew enough.”
“How much is enough?”
“He knew the business had debts that never appeared on the official records. He knew invoices were being changed. He knew certain contractors were not real.”
“And you?”
“I knew my mother was hiding something. I didn’t know what.”
Audrey looked at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Seraphina finally sat.
“I don’t expect anything from you.”
The exhaustion in her voice seemed genuine.
Audrey remembered every laugh, every dismissive comment, every private apology Julian had offered on Seraphina’s behalf.
“Why were you so cruel to me?” she asked.
Seraphina’s eyes lifted.
The question seemed to surprise her.
