I knew she had raised me alone.
I knew she never talked about my father beyond saying he had not been ready to build a life with her.
I knew her.
Or I thought I did.
“The Meridian closed when I was little.”
“Twenty-one years ago.”
“I would remember my mother telling me she worked there.”
“You were five when she left.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know how old I was?”
Harlan went quiet.
That was the first moment I considered simply walking away.
I put on my coat.
“Tell your driver I found another ride.”
“Rue.”
“No.”
“There’s something you should see.”
“At two in the morning?”
“Not tonight.”
“Good.”
I walked toward the elevators.
“Your mother and mine were friends.”
That stopped me.
I turned slowly.
Harlan remained near Belle’s doorway.
“My mother’s name was Eleanor Voss,” he said.
“She ran the Meridian Foundation before the theater closed.
