Sawyer stared at them, his disgust palpable. “You just confirmed she exists,” he noted.

Carolina squeezed her eyes shut, finally looking like a woman who had run out of lies. “Fernanda was just a stupid, youthful mistake.”

“Don’t you dare talk about a human being like she’s a stain on your record,” Sawyer spat.

“You have no idea what I was forced to endure at that age,” she countered.

“Then start being honest for once in your life and tell me,” he demanded.

Carolina looked toward Gracie’s room, then back at her mother. Bonnie shook her head in a panic, but Carolina seemed completely drained of the energy required to keep playing the part.