“He was worried about the company.”
“Why?”
“Your father’s business had been struggling for the past year. Not publicly. He managed to keep the problems contained. But there were debts, delayed payments, and several contracts that had not worked out. Veronica knew some of this, though I don’t know how much she understood.”
“Then maybe she needs the money.”
Gabriel looked at me carefully.
“That may be true.”
It was the first thing he said about Veronica that did not sound like a legal argument.
“She told me she wasn’t going to waste eight years raising another woman’s child.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’m sorry.”
“She said everything belonged to her.”
“She may have believed that was the only way to protect herself.”
“She left me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you making excuses for her?”
“I’m not.” His voice remained quiet. “I’m trying to separate what she did from why she did it. Both matter, but they are not the same.”
