Page 270 of Taken Away

Anne’s voice cracked.

“She had Harold. She had Blackwood. She had the life I was supposed to have.”

A tear slid down her cheek.

“She wasn’t getting my daughter too.”

Bennett slipped an arm around Aubrey’s shoulders.

Inside, Burke said, “So you kept Aubrey away.”

Anne closed her eyes.

“Yes.”

“You never told her who her father was.”

“No.”

“Why?”

Anne opened her eyes.

“Because if she knew…”

Her voice barely held.

“If she knew who he was, she would have wanted them.”

“Them?”

“Harold. Mabel. Blackwood. And I would have lost the only thing I had left.”

Outside the room, Aubrey closed her eyes.

She had spent her entire life believing no one had wanted her.

Now she realized someone had.

Bennett felt her shaking beneath his hand.

Inside, Burke let the silence sit.

Then he reached for the folder.

Anne watched the movement.

Burke opened it.

“Anne.”

“Yes?”

“I know you were in Sylva the night your sister died.”

The room went still.

Outside the door, Aubrey’s eyes opened.