“Why then?”
“The trust became fully hers at thirty. Until then, Richard remained co-trustee.”
“She was twenty-eight.”
“Yes.”
“What did she want you to do?”
“Help prove she could manage her own affairs.”
“And marriage helped.”
“It made it harder for Richard to isolate her, but that wasn’t the main reason.”
“What was?”
Ben looked at Rosie with a tenderness so deep it hurt to witness.
“She asked whether my fourth-grade promise still counted.”
My throat tightened.
“I told her it did.”
“So you loved her.”
“I had loved her for years.”
“Then why say the reason was worse than I thought?”
“Because she also asked me to help expose your father. She believed he had killed Evelyn, stolen from both of you, and falsified medical documents to control her life. Marrying Rosie meant tying myself to a dangerous investigation.”
“You could have told me.”
“She made me promise not to.”
“And you always keep her promises?”
His eyes lowered.
