“I guess you could call it a game of hers. Who’d break first. Gabrielle liked to get her way, and would do anything to ensure that she got it. A time came when we had to put our foot down. That made her angry. Cutting us out of her life was her way of punishing us. She wanted us to give in, and her weapon was not letting us see our grandson. Gabrielle was pretty good at not flinching first.” Mr. Morgan locked his gaze on Gavin’s. “But I am better.”

“What did she want?” Warren asked, causing Mr. Morgan to sharply turn his head.

“To marry an unemployed musician who loved my money more than he loved her.”

“James!” Rachel Morgan’s eyes went wide. “That’s unfair.”

“I’m sorry to be so blunt. Please understand, being straight forward is just my way. You don’t get very far in life if you don’t do, and say, things that are necessary, even if they are unpleasant.” James Morgan shifted his position on the couch, his back poker straight. “Gabrielle went ahead and did it anyway, married him. He divorced her two months later, after I’d cut her off financially. After a couple of years of the silent treatment, out of the blue, she contacted us again. I think Gabrielle finally realized that she needed my money.”

“James, she said she looked forward to fixing things with us. She wanted her parents back in her life,” Mrs. Morgan offered to her husband. Her eyes appeared glassy as if she was getting ready to cry. Val felt sorry for Rachel Morgan. The heartache of losing her daughter, not once but twice, was apparent.

Mr. Morgan didn’t even bother to look at his wife after she spoke.

Val asked sympathetically, “Was it about her cancer? Is that why she wanted to put any differences aside?” Dr. Maddox said that it was possible that Gabrielle was in early stages of cancer and may not have known about it. Val wanted to find out if Gabrielle did know, and telling her parents, and wanting a reconciliation, may indicate that.

“What cancer?” Rachel snapped her head towards Val, alarm in her voice. She gripped her cane hard and it appeared she was trying to stand. “Gabi had cancer? James, did you know about this?” Mrs. Morgan was practically shouting.

“She didn’t tell you?” Val asked, her voice calm, though she’d already guessed the answer.

“No. There were many things she didn’t tell us.” Mr. Morgan just looked irritated rather than worried, certainly no alarm was apparent in his face. His daughter had cancer. He didn’t know until this moment, and Val could tell that he didn’t even care. There was no remorse. He continued to ignore his wife.