She had to bite back amusement at her son’s reaction, and from the laughter that shined for just a moment in Holly’s eyes, she did, too. ‘He just did,’ she said in answer to her brother’s question.

It wasn’t her daughter’s response so much as the smile that immediately fell from her face that alerted Alyssa that there might be more to the story than she was saying. She waited until Isaac, muttering about dumb adult choices, headed back upstairs with Trevor – who appeared equally traumatized at the news – before she asked Holly what was on her mind.

Holly tilted her head back so that it appeared she was speaking to the ceiling. ‘I don’t suppose it matters if I say I don’t really want to talk about it right now?’

‘It matters. But I’m not sure if I believe you. Otherwise, why would you have mentioned it at all?’

Holly rolled her eyes. ‘You know, sometimes it just plain sucks having a mom who’s good at reading people.’

‘Thank you.’ Alyssa waited, knowing Holly was gathering her thoughts.

‘He sold it because it was a gift from his mother, and he and Rachel have both said they want nothing from that woman.’ The way Holly sneered the word mother, it was clear she wanted to tack something to the end of it.

Alyssa understood where her daughter – and Nick and Rachel, his twin – were coming from. After Rachel had been rescued from the sex trafficking ring, Nina Otis had insisted to Nick that Rachel was to blame for having been taken based purely on the clothes she wore and the parties she attended. At the time, Alyssa had been sickened and appalled at the woman’s cold attitude and all-around lack of compassion. Evidently, so were her children, as they should be.

Alyssa peeled the outer skin from the onion she held. ‘How are Jersey and Rachel doing anyway? They haven’t been over here in a few weeks.’ Jersey was another one of Holly’s friends who’d been trafficked. She was also the cousin to Holly’s best friend, Sophie. The four girls, Holly, Sophie, Jersey, and Rachel, were all renting a large duplex near the university, thanks in great part to Mabel’s help, as well as Sophie’s parents, Jersey’s mother, and Rachel’s father all pitching in.

As she studied her daughter’s profile, Alyssa found it nearly impossible not to compare what she’d learned about Addis and Emerson’s relationship to that of Holly and her friends, or even Isaac and Trevor’s.