Chapter 16 - Their Mother
Evelyn arrived at Elena's house before police contacted her.
She was seventy, elegant, and furious.
"You have destroyed your sister."
Elena stared at her.
"Victoria helped build a case to take my baby."
"She was trying to protect the family."
The phrase sounded inherited.
Elena almost laughed.
"From what? Me?"
Evelyn sat down.
She admitted Victoria had told her about the guardianship petition.
She knew Victoria wanted control if Elena was declared unstable.
She knew Samuel had financial problems.
She knew Marcus was moving money.
But she claimed she never knew anyone would tamper with Noah's bottle.
"Did you tell her to stop?" Adrian asked.
Evelyn looked away.
"I told her to be careful."
Elena felt something inside her finally break cleanly.
"Careful?"
Her mother flinched.
"You knew she was manufacturing evidence against me, and your advice was to be careful?"
Evelyn started crying.
"Your father left everything complicated. Victoria felt cheated."
"So she gets my child?"
"I never said that."
"You didn't have to."
Police later confirmed Evelyn had not participated in the bottle incident or financial theft. But she had helped Victoria gather personal information and had encouraged the guardianship strategy.
Different conduct.
Different responsibility.
Elena refused to collapse them into one story.
She also refused to excuse her mother.
"You won't see Noah without supervision," she said.
Evelyn stared at her.
"I'm his grandmother."
"That is a relationship, not a license."
Evelyn left.
Adrian stood beside Elena at the window.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Me neither."
They stayed there anyway.
Then Rachel called.
Samuel had agreed to plead guilty on several charges.
Victoria had refused.
She wanted a trial.
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And her defense strategy was clear.
She planned to argue Elena had contaminated the bottle herself to frame her sister.
