“Ella,” she whispers, propping two fingers underneath my chin and lifting my head. “Every human being has a right to be selfish when it comes to grief. I abandoned you, too, in the wake of what happened with your brother.” Her voice cracks on the last word. “I sacrificed precious time with you, so obsessed with overturning the case, when I still had a child here who needed me more than ever,” she tells me brokenly. “I kept you in the dark. I was trying to protect you, trying to save you from another crushing disappointment if it didn’t work out. So, no, Ella…you don’t
