Christina jumped in, her voice pitched high and sweet. "Please don't blame Kevin, Fern. Dad and I begged him not to say anything. We were afraid you'd be upset. We wanted to find the right time—"
She twisted her fingers together, the picture of innocence.
"Kevin and I met in college. I was his junior. We... we dated for a while. But then his family called him back for the arranged marriage, and we had to break up."
Her eyes went wide and wet. "I swear I'm not trying to steal him from you. I just—today was so awful. I never imagined your mother would... that she'd go that far..."
Kevin said nothing.
His silence was its own confession.
The absurdity of it crashed over me like ice water.
He'd known all along. He'd known my father had a secret daughter, and he'd kept me blind.
If I'd found out sooner—if I'd had any warning—maybe I could have protected her.
Maybe my mother would still be alive.
The silence stretched. Christina rushed to fill it.
"Fern, Mom and I genuinely wanted to pay our respects. No matter what anyone says, your mother did die because of us. I feel terrible about it."
Christina's voice dripped with rehearsed sincerity.