“Adrian, you had enemies watching every weakness in our family. Evelyn was pregnant, emotional, and frightened. She had already threatened to leave. I believed the letter was an attempt to force you into a marriage you no longer wanted.”
I closed my eyes.
“You decided that without speaking to me?”
“I knew you.”
“No,” I said. “You knew the version of me you had raised.”
There was another silence.
Then she said, “The twins were born into a world that could have harmed them.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of the Moretti name.”Find Baby Names
I looked at Evelyn. She was standing beneath the little calendar covered
in children’s drawings, listening without interrupting.
“Did you send Evelyn that letter?” I asked.
“I sent one.”
“What did it say?”
“That you had no intention of returning to the marriage. That you would not be pressured into acknowledging children you had not chosen to have.”Get Marriage Tips
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You had no right.”
“No,” Victoria said. “I didn’t.”
The admission took me by surprise.
She continued, “But I was afraid. Your father had just been hospitalized. Two of our businesses were under investigation. People were asking questions about you, about Evelyn, about every person close to the family. I thought distance would keep her safe.”
“You sent her away with no support.”
“I arranged support.”
Evelyn turned sharply.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria’s voice changed when she heard her. It became softer, but not warmer.
“I paid the first year of your apartment in Cambridge. I arranged
for a private physician to monitor you during the pregnancy. I gave money to the family resource center where you later found work.”Family resource center
Evelyn stared at the phone as though Victoria were standing in the room.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I never received money from you.”
“You received it anonymously.”
“Why anonymously?”
“Because I knew you would refuse it if you knew where it came from.”
“You had no right to decide what I accepted.”
“I know that now.”
The words sounded familiar, but coming from Victoria they seemed almost impossible.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“Because I thought I was preserving your future.”
