"But she didn't anticipate that Lucy's appetite was far bigger than she'd estimated, and completely beyond her control. You saw how that ended."
I sank back into the sofa. The glass nearly slipped from my fingers.
My mind went blank.
Scenes from my previous life played back one by one.
He didn't choose not to love me. Matriarch Farley had been holding his mother's life over his head the entire time?
Matriarch Farley was the one pulling the strings all along. And our family, and me... in my last life, I'd thrown everything away, my very life, all because of her scheme?
I thought back to what Grandma had told me in the car yesterday.
"Grandma, are you serious? You want to strike out on your own, but you're handing over the most profitable projects?"
The old woman had laughed.
"Those projects? They're the meat hanging in the shop window. They're there so people feel comfortable. You think I'd put the real lifeline of this family on display for everyone to see?"
"And do you honestly think what's on the books is all I have?"
Every old-money dynasty had power hidden in the shadows, and the Hensons were no exception.