Chapter 5 - THE MOTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
My mother, Margaret Carter, had once worked as a respiratory therapist.
Before her illness, she spent thirty years helping patients breathe.
She was the kind of woman who remembered birthdays.
Who brought homemade soup to neighbors.
Who couldn't pass a stray cat without stopping.
But fourteen months earlier, she developed a progressive lung condition.
Since then, our lives had revolved around oxygen tanks, medication schedules, and insurance appeals.
I called her from the Romano estate.
She answered after four rings.
“Emily?”
“Mom, I need to ask you something.”
“What's wrong?”
“Do you know a little girl named Sofia Romano?”
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“Where did you hear that name?”
My stomach tightened.
“Mom.”
She began coughing.
I waited until she could breathe again.
Then she said:
“Emily, come home.”
“Do you know her?”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“How?”
May you like
My mother's voice trembled.
“Because I helped hide her aunt.”
