“Oh,” Irene said lightly, as if she were discussing the weather. “Your father passed away about a week after you went to jail.”
The ground beneath me seemed to shift. My vision blurred with tears, but I forced myself to stay upright.
Gilbert stepped out of the study then, his expression shifting the moment he saw me. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as he noticed the storm brewing in my eyes.
I stumbled forward and grabbed his arm, clutching it tightly as if it could anchor me. “You promised,” I choked out, my voice trembling with anguish. “You said that if I went to jail for her, you would take care of my father. You swore it to me!”
My voice rose, raw and desperate, as tears spilled down my cheeks. “How could he die? How could you let this happen?”
My trembling voice broke as I asked, desperate to believe it wasn’t true.
Gilbert’s eyes flickered with something that resembled heartache, but it was gone in an instant.
Irene leaned close, her voice sickeningly sweet in my ear. “Amelia, I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. I only wanted to visit Uncle Byrd that day, but I couldn’t help myself—I accidentally told him you were in jail. I didn’t realize it would upset him so much.”