“She said she knew I was in love with him. She said she wanted her pay day and she’d have been gone but I didn’t do my job and instead screwed her over. She said she knew he had feelings for me, and it was why she refused to cooperate and give him my real identity. She wanted to punish us both by keeping us apart.” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I don’t blame her. I would hate me too.”
“No. Nu-uh, honey. You don’t get to feel bad for her or condone her bullshit. She’s a viper. At twenty she knew right from wrong. She might have bought into the Kool-Aid your parents drank but when they died, she could have let you go. She could have turned you over to children’s services and given you even an ounce of a chance at a decent life. It might not have been perfect but it sure as h
