rose opened it, her curiosity mingling with a sense of dread. The first few pages felt like a punch to her gut reports and observations, every detail about Lucian meticulously documented, chronicling his early childhood to the present. Why would her mother feel the need to document all this information about her own son? Shouldn't she have known Lucian without needing to investigate him? As she turned the pages, she felt a growing sickness settle into her bones.
"Why… why would you have all this?" Rose whispered, her voice quivering as she flipped through page after page. She glanced at her mother with a mixture of shock and accusation. "You're his mother. Why would you need something like this? Shouldn't you… shouldn't you have known him?"
Olivia's face contorted in anguish, her gaze locked on her lap as if looking at Rose might break her. She just shook her head, unable to answer. She knew she couldn't defend herself, nor did she deserve any defense.
