I stepped in front of Dad, even though I only came up to his waist.
"My mom didn't make this up!
"You're the one who's lying! You've been saying mean things about her this whole time! You don't even know her! You don't know how amazing she was!"
Vera's face turned bright red with anger and embarrassment.
"I'm trying to protect you, Asher.
"This girl showed up out of nowhere, and now this letter? It's all too convenient. If Elara was really suffering this much, why didn't she contact you in six years? Why wait until she was dead?"
Tears spilled down my cheeks again.
"Because of Grandma! The bad men kidn*pped Grandma! Mom was threatened! Grandma begged her not to call you! Mom promised her!"
Mom had told me all about it, over and over again, when she couldn't sleep.
I didn't really
