Ethan and Sophie had just come downstairs for breakfast. They froze on the bottom step.
I motioned for them to stay calm, but my heart was pounding.
“You abandoned them,” I replied. “You left them alone on a plane when they were babies.”
Alicia’s expression didn’t change. “I was 23 years old and terrified. I’d just gotten the opportunity of a lifetime, a job offer that could change my future. I had twin infants I never planned for, and I was drowning.”
She looked at the twins without a trace of shame.
“You left them alone
on a plane when they were
babies.”
“I saw you grieving on that plane, and I thought you needed them as much as they needed someone. So I made a choice.”
“You set me up,” I whispered. “You manipulated me into taking your children.”
“I gave them a better life than I could’ve provided at the time.” She pulled a thick envelope from her designer purse.