I can almost hear her displeasure in the pause before she speaks. “He was protecting himself after your grandfather threatened to take everything away.”

“And why did he do that, mother?”

Silence.

“Selective memory?”

“What he did was wrong.”

“He almost killed me.”

“And he’ll apologize.”

I snort. “An apology when my life almost ended… I’m not sure that goes far enough.”

“What do you want from him?”

“I want him to face the consequences of his actions.”

“What? You want for him to stand before The Tribunal? Imagine the shame it will bring to our family.”

“That was grandfather’s area. I don’t care about appearances.”

“Besides, they’ll lock him up, and you know it.”

“Maybe he deserves to be locked up.” My grandfather kept tabs on him over the five years he’s been MIA. I know what Theron’s been up to, and it’s no good.

“Your grandfather wanted to punish him for my mistake.”

“For your extramarital affair, you mean?”

“Watch your mouth.”

“What did I say? The truth?”

“He already punished me. You stood witness. Or have you forgotten? Selective memory, Judge?”

Fuck.

I don’t have anything to say about that. I wish I’d never seen it. I wish I’d never learned what my grandfather, a man I loved and looked up to, was capable of. But then again, I loved Theron too. We were close, but he turned on me and stabbed me in the back. Literally.

“Theron didn’t choose his parents,” my mother continues. I missed whatever else she said before. “It’s not quite fair to punish him for that, is it? And besides, after what I’ve been through, don’t I have a right to say where some of the money goes?”

“It doesn’t work that way. Not for us. We’ve discussed this. Even if father was alive, the inheritance would have gone to me.”

“You and your brother.”

“I’m firstborn.”

“Well, la-di-da for you.”

“Mother, I don’t have time for this.”

“No, I guess you don’t with your new plaything in the house. In a hurry to get back to her?”

I grit my teeth. She found out about Mercedes although it’s not like I could keep that a secret. But the circumstances of her presence at my house? The plaything comment? What can she know?

“If Theron wants to return, he knows how to get in touch with me. In the meantime, if I find him on the grounds, he will be arrested. Understood?”

“My cottage is on the grounds.”

“Exactly. Goodbye, Mother.”

She mutters something, then hangs up. I put the phone down. It doesn’t bother me anymore, my mother’s hate. Did she always hate me? She favored Theron, and for a long time, I assumed it was because he was the youngest. I know the truth now, though.