“I knew it years before I could admit it out loud.

And I knew that when it finally came down — and I always knew it would come down — I was not going to let it take you and your brother with it.

Someone had to keep something true, so that when the lie collapsed, my children would still have the ground to stand on.

So I kept it.” She looked at me, and her eyes were wet and steady at once.

“A mother protects her children with what she has, Victoria.

Your father had money and lawyers.