look me in the eyes.
“Forty thousand dollars.”
I laughed.
But there was no joy in that sound.
“You sold the truth for forty thousand dollars?”
“Your father was sick,” she sobbed. “We were drowning in debt. They also threatened me. They said that if I went to the police, they would make it look as though you had attacked Jessica first.”
“And you let me spend my entire life believing that there was something naturally wrong with my face.”
My mother reached for me.
I stepped away.
At that moment, I understood what Dr. Harris must have told Michael.
During the surgery, he had discovered evidence of a severe fracture that had happened years earlier. The old damage inside my nose didn’t match the story in my newer medical records.
The doctor had asked questions.
And Michael realized the secret was about to come out.
“Why did you remove
