REJECTED ME BUT KARMA CAME FOR YOU
"We've never spoken of it directly, not once in thirty-four years, but you've always known. Haven't you."
Ryan said nothing, which was answer enough.
"Your mother worked in this house," Richard continued, his voice quiet now, almost distant, as though reciting a story he'd told himself so many times in private that the words had worn smooth. "As a maid, alongside my wife's staff, the year my first wife was pregnant with our son. Both women, as it happened, were due within days of each other." He paused, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. "My wife died in childbirth. So did the child. Three days later, your mother went into labor in the servants' quarters of this very house, and she die