Adrian's POV
I could barely see Detective Pierce through my tears. The recording had stopped playing, but Fiona's words still echoed in my head like a cruel song on repeat.
"What's one baby compared to a lifetime of luxury?"
Our baby. My child. Gone, because it was inconvenient for her ambitions.
"Mr. Thorne?" Detective Pierce's voice broke through my thoughts. "You said Elara is Mrs. Dubois's real daughter. That Fiona is a fake. What exactly do you mean by that?"
I leaned back in my chair, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. What did it matter now? The truth was already a festering wound inside me. Letting it out might be the only way to breathe again.
"My father told me," I said, my voice hollow. "Right before he died."
Detective Pierce shifted in her seat, leaning forward with new interest. "Your father? Gideon Thorne?"
"Yes. The man I killed." I said it plainly, without emotion. Saying it aloud brought a strange relief. "I killed my own father."
