Sophie’s POV
I couldn't move.
My father's words kept replaying in my head.
Marcus was responsible for the night your mother died.
My mother.
Catherine.
The woman whose absence had shaped every part of my life.
The woman I had spent years believing I lost because of some terrible accident.
Now I was being told that her death might not have been an accident at all.
I looked at Alexander.
He was still holding his phone, staring at the screen as though Michael might suddenly call back.
“What did my father mean?” I whispered.
Alexander looked at me.
“I don't know.”
“But he said Marcus was responsible.”
“He did.”
“Then why didn't he tell me before?”
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
“Maybe he was afraid.”
“Afraid of Marcus?”
“Possibly.”
I shook my head.
“My father has al
