“Julian discovered the truth several years after Margaret disappeared.”
Me quedé mirando.
“Several years?”
– Sí.
“But he disappeared only a week before our wedding.”
Arthur nodded.
“Because that’s when Victor discovered Julian knew.”
Mi piel se enfrió.
Arthur continuó.
“Julian believed Victor would come after the children if he stayed.”
I remembered Julian’s note.
I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.
Thirty years of believing those words meant cowardice.
Apparently, they had meant something else entirely.
“He could have told me,” I whispered.
“No,” Eleanor said.
I turned toward her.
She looked ashamed.
“That was the cruelest part.”
– ¿Qué?
“He couldn’t tell you because Victor was watching you.”
My knees weakened.
Arthur caught my elbow.
I sat.
“How long?”
“Years,” Arthur said.
La habitación se volvió de repente desconocida.
Every window.
Every curtain.
Every stranger I had once seen parked across the street.
Had I been watched?
