Anna's POV
I took her trembling hand in mine.
"We can't leave yet. If we walk out now, everyone will believe you're destroying their marriage." The party guests had already formed a circle of whispers and stares around us.
"It's all lies!" Mom's voice shook with indignation. "Mary Simpson is completely fabricating this. I've never...
Your father was my only love. How could I ever do something like that?"
The anguish in her eyes broke my heart. Dad had been gone seven years, but Mom still fell asleep clutching his photograph. Yet Samuel's cryptic comment about George's interest in my mother suddenly clicked into place.
"I believe you're innocent," I assured her, gently dabbing her tears with a tissue. "That's exactly why we need to stay and clear your name."
George approached us with practiced concern. "Anna, this is all a misunderstanding. Please tell your assistant to release my wife."
