had already lost a baby.”
My eyes widened.
Rose nodded.
“She had given birth to a little girl six months earlier.
Stillborn.”
I looked at Evelyn.
She hadn’t known that part.
“Helen wanted a child,” Rose whispered.
“And I wanted mine alive.”
“So you gave me to her?”
“For one night.”
My throat tightened.
“One night?”
“I was supposed to come back.”
“What happened?”
Rose’s eyes filled.
“Thomas found me.”
The room went still.
“He had me committed.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He had connections.
Doctors.
Lawyers.
Everyone believed him when he said I was unstable.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Eventually, I became unstable.”
I could barely listen.
“I spent nine years trying to get out.
By then Helen had moved.
Harold refused to tell me where.”
My anger shifted.
“Why?”
Rose looked at Evelyn.
“Because he thought I would lead Thomas to you.”
“Did Thomas know I survived?”
“No.”
“
