The Interrogation
Inside the sitting room, Charles motioned for Elena to sit. His tone grew sharp, like a lawyer interrogating a witness.
“Tell me about your parents.”
Elena’s voice faltered. “They died when I was twelve. My stepmother… she never wanted me. I left at sixteen. Lily came last year. Her father… he isn’t here anymore. Since then, I’ve done what I can. Cleaning, odd jobs. Enough to keep us alive, barely.”
Charles’s chest tightened as the details clicked into place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle he had sworn never to complete.
