Lidia's face dropped. Her hands were left helplessly reaching out to Maria.
"But... Maria. I've missed you all this time."
"You betrayed my trust, mom. How could you not trust your own daughter with her own power?! Also, my power seems it would greatly benefit you all. Why hide the truth from me?"
"I promise it had more to do with Jacob than you. We also didn't know the extent of those curse marks and what they do."
Enny tightened up in her chair.
'Curse marks?'
Lidia looked into her own lap as tears fell down her cheeks.
"When Slimo first looked at you two with his glasses, your names weren't even close to your real ones. They were your titles given to you by the Epigones Marking. That incentive alone almost made Slimo want to kill you and Jacob. He thought you were both replaced with fakes who were going to come after us."
She stared back at Maria desperately.
"But I talked him out of it! Please, you have to believe me!"
