Isabel answered on the second ring.
“Where are you?”
There was no greeting. No relief. No question about whether Elena was injured.
Only anger.
Elena swallowed.
“I’m safe.”
“You selfish little fool! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I know what you tried to do to me.”
“I tried to save this family!”
“You locked me in a bedroom with a man I told you I didn’t want to be alone with.”
“Lower your voice.”
“No.”
The word surprised them both.
Elena’s hands were shaking, but she continued.
“You told me I owed you for raising me. You said I should be grateful that Mr. Ambrose was willing to take an interest in me. You hit me when I refused.”
“I gave you a home!”
“My father gave me a home.”
The silence on the other end was immediate.
Elena felt something inside her shift.
For years, she had avoided mentioning her father because Isabel always turned his memory into a weapon. She claimed Elena’s father had died in debt, leaving his family helpless and dependent on her generosity.
