"It's okay. Serena doesn't really like me. I'm used to it."
I watched the three of them and felt something between disbelief and bitter amusement.
So my biological parents and my brother had all known that June was carrying Patrick's child.
Every single one of them knew. I was the only fool kept in the dark.
A dry, humorless sound escaped my throat.
"Your family really raised a fine daughter. She stole eighteen years of my life, humiliated me the moment I came back, seduced my husband, bore his child, and moved right into my nest like a cuckoo."
Carl's face darkened. His voice cut through the room like a whip.
"Shut your mouth, Serena. If you hadn't shown up out of nowhere, June would never have felt so insecure. Everything she did was because she was terrified you'd steal our love."
He looked at me, his eyes glacial.
"Even if she made mistakes, you pushed her to it. And Patrick should have married her in the first place."
I laughed. The sound tore out of me, ragged and raw.
June had slandered me, framed me, more times than I could count. My parents knew the truth every single time, yet all they ever said was, "You're the older sister. Let her have her way."