“We’ve missed you, Ally-Oop.”

Peter’s arms enveloped her too, sandwiching Alice between them just like she’d begged them to do when she was a kid. It felt ridiculously good.

“I’m going to drop the port.”

“Can’t have that.” Peter rescued the bottle and poured them all a drink.

She sat between them on the couch. “I just needed some time to—”

“Try and make sense of it.” Peter said.

“It’s too sad to ever make sense of.”

Karen squeezed her hand. “Alice, you’re the innocent in all of this. I didn’t tell you because I never wanted you to be burdened by something you have no control over. All I wanted was for you to grow up feeling safe and loved. To be free of shame and fear so you could be happy and meet your potential. I wanted everything for you that your mother didn’t get to have. What she wanted for you.”

The prickle of tears made Alice blink. “How do you even know what she wanted for me?”

“The police found a letter in her pocket written on hospital paper. I still have it. Do you want to read it?”

Alice’s instincts warned her to protect herself. “No. Maybe you can paraphrase it?”

“She said she loved you. She wanted to be a mother but she knew she couldn’t be until she got clean. She asked me to keep you safe until she could.” Karen took in a ragged breath. “You were so sick and her pain and shame must have been so acute … I just wish I’d known. I’d have rescued her from the streets, I’d—”

“Lisa didn’t want you to see her like that,” Peter said softly. “How sick she was …”

Alice took her mother’s hand and held it as understanding unfurled inside her. The secret grief Karen had carried all these years drove everything she did, from the way she’d raised her to her current push for Alice to live a safe and secure life. “I can’t imagine how you did it.”

“Did what?”

“Overcame your own childhood deprivation and loved us so well.”

Karen rested her head against hers. “I was lucky. I met your father.”

“You worked bloody hard,” Peter said.

“Yes, but I had all the Hunters loving me and making me feel safe. It’s easier to be the person you want to be when you see your best self reflected back to you through others’ eyes. And your grandmother was special. With grace and an innate understanding and a lot of guidance, she and your dad showed me how to be a mother.”

“You’re a wonderful mother. And because of you and Dad, I’m relatively happy and healthy. You don’t have to worry about me as much as you do.”

“I’ve been telling her that for years,” Peter said.