Marlene’s expression flickered.
I kept reading.
“You did not yet know you were carrying our child.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
I could hear someone breathing across the room.
Marlene’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
One of her brothers whispered:
“You’re pregnant?”
I pressed a hand against my stomach.
“Yes.”
Even saying it still felt unreal.
I had discovered it after Russell died.
The nausea.
The dizziness.
The exhaustion.
I had assumed it was grief until the test changed everything.
But Russell had known.
Or at least suspected.
I continued reading.
“I guessed before you did. The toast you stopped eating. The tea that suddenly made you sick. The mornings you turned pale. I arranged the appointment because I wanted you cared for whether I was there or not.”
My voice broke completely.
Marlene stared at me.
Then she whispered:
“That proves it.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“You trapped him.”
