“He didn’t want her to have any claim on the family fortune.”

“So he took action.”

I gripped the metal handrail along the wall.

The cold steel felt grounding.

“What did he do, Ruth?”

“He sent his lawyers to her hospital bed,” Ruth said.

“Right after she gave birth.”

“They brought papers.”

“And they made terrible threats.”

“They told her she would go to jail if she ever tried to see the boys.”

“They told her they would ruin her life.”

I felt a wave of anger wash over me.

“She was twenty years old,” I said.

“She was alone.”

“Yes,” Ruth said, tears falling freely now.

“And that wasn’t the worst of it.”

“What else?” I demanded.

“Your father lied to her,” Ruth whispered.

“He told her the orders came directly from you.”

“He told her you hated her for what she had done.”

“He said you blamed her for Evelyn’s death.”

I felt like the floor was dropping out from under me.

“No,” I whispered.

“She believed you were the one banishing her,” Ruth said.

“She spent five years thinking you despised her.”