“You lied to me,” Madison said. “For sixteen years, you lied.”
“You told me she died peacefully. You told me she was happy. You told me she smiled.”
Her voice rose.
“She didn’t smile, Dad. She begged. She cried. She died knowing you chose your mistress over her. She died knowing you got another woman pregnant while she was carrying me. She died asking you to love me. And you couldn’t even stay in the room.”
Andrew tried to stand.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed back into his chair.
“Madison, you don’t understand—”
“I understand everything.”
Madison turned to Jennifer.
“And you? You laughed. My mother was dying. And you laughed.”
Jennifer was crying now, mascara running down her face.
“I didn’t… I was nervous. I didn’t mean—”
“You were five months pregnant with his child,” Madison said. “You were in that delivery room watching his wife die so you could take her place. Don’t tell me you didn’t mean it.”
She turned back to the crowd.
“My grandparents tried to be part of my life. They sent letters. They called. They begged to see me. And my father told me they blamed me for my mother’s death.”
“Another lie.”
