Far away from the scheming household, Annie sat frozen in her study, a DNA report trembling in her hands. Her breath caught painfully in her throat.
Maya. Her eldest daughter was alive.
Jules hadn't lied. Jules hadn't imagined things. Jules… had been the one suffering.
A wave of guilt crashed into Annie so strongly she almost dropped the report. Her knees weakened, and with trembling hands she covered her face as tears slipped through her fingers.
'I hurt my own child. I punished her. I believed every lie Maya fed me. I… I was a monster to her.'
She thought of Jules' terrified eyes, the way the girl flinched at her voice.
All this time, Annie assumed Jules was guilty, hiding something, feeling shame. But now she realized it wasn't guilt.
It was fear. Fear of her own mother.
And why wouldn't she be terrified? Annie had sided with Maya every single time, blind to the truth, blind to manipulation. Every harsh word she threw at Jules, every punishment, every accusation…
