“Both of you, stop! Stop being so goddamn selfish! Let. Him. Go. Now. He's connected to me to our baby and every blow you land on him tears through me too. I can't—" I gasped, clutching my stomach as another wave of pain rippled through me. “I can't keep pretending your secrets are worth more than my child's life, I'm done watching you circle each other, protecting your own legacy, while the truth rots beneath your feet.”

Mom's face crumpled like paper, her eyes wide with hurt that cut deeper than any blade.

“Why did you shout at me?” she repeated, her voice climbing into that wounded register that always...