—You really don’t know, do you?
My stomach tightened.
—Know what?
Her eyes moved toward the triplets.
—Why do you think I was so desperate to make you leave before Leonardo discovered you were pregnant?
Leonardo went completely still.
Victoria laughed weakly.
—It wasn’t because Sofia was poor.
I felt suddenly cold.
—Then why?
She looked at Leonardo.
—Because your father knew her mother.
Silence.
Leonardo frowned.
—What are you talking about?
Victoria sat down.
For the first time that night, she looked old.
—Sofia was told she was an orphan.
—I am.
—No.
My breath caught.
Victoria looked directly at me.
—Your mother didn’t die when you were a baby.
The room seemed to tilt.
—You’re lying.
—I wish I were.
Leonardo’s voice hardened.
—Who was her mother?
Victoria’s eyes filled with something I couldn’t identify.
Fear.
Shame.
Perhaps both.
Before she could answer, the doors opened.
An elderly man entered with two attorneys.
