Brenda closed her eyes. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to protect Arwen from the ugly truth. But how could she refute what had always been true? How could she lie again now when the weight of her choices had already begun to crumble the bond they once shared?
Arwen watched her silently, her lips curling into a bitter, almost broken smile. Her heart clenched painfully.
As expected … her guess hadn't been wrong.
The one who had drugged her wasn't some unknown enemy lurking in the shadows, nor a distant figure she needed to hunt down.
It was someone no one would have ever suspected of harming her.
Someone she had trusted without hesitation … almost all her life.
Her mother.
