Ste took a slow breath, her voice barely more than a whisper as she recounted
the past.
"My father was furious about what Fisherwoman did-how she tore our family apart. Any gratitude he once felt for her slowly faded away.
But at the height of the chaos between my parents, when the fighting over Fisherwoman was at its worst, she showed up at our house. My mother threw her out without a second thought.
She tried calling my father, but my mother wouldn''t let him take the call. And then, out of nowhere, Fisherwoman had an ident. She died."
Ste''s eyes drifted toward the window, her tone growing distant. "Her sudden death stirred something in my father. Maybe it brought back memories of what they''d shared, or maybe he just needed someone to me. Either way, he put all the me on my mother.
He insisted on adopting Fisherwoman''s daughter-making my mother her legal guardian, demanding that she raise the girl as her own."
"Of course, my mother refused. She even thought about running away. When my father found out, he locked her up."
Ste''s hands trembled slightly as she continued. "Eventually, she pretended to submit, waiting for the right moment. When the chance came, she escaped to Novaris, putting as much distance as she could between her and my father."
"It was only after she arrived in Novaris that she discovered she was pregnant again."
"She had no way to bring her three children with her, so she left me behind." "Later, my mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. She knew she didn''t have much time left, so she told me everything."
Ste fell silent for a moment, lost in memory. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said, "I still remember the tears in her eyes as she told me, ''Star, I''m so sorry. The grudges of the previous generation should never have been passed down to the children. If it weren''t for my stubbornness, you would have grown up as a beloved daughter in a wealthy family, nevercking for anything-never having to endure the shame of being called a child without a father."
Her words hung in the quiet of the private room, gentle and detached as if she were telling someone else''s story.
"I was in high school when I was finally brought back to the Williams family for a while. But I never got along with them. My rtionship with my half-sister was especially toxic-we were always at each other''s throats.
After I graduated college, I cut ties and never went back."
Neville''s eyes widened in realization. "So when you were in college, you weren''t using the name you go by now?"
Ste nodded. "That''s right. The Williams family created a false identity for me- said I was an adopted daughter and erased all traces of my past. That''s why you couldn''t find any information about me."
"To the Williams family, I was a secret. My mother''s story and mine... they made sure no one could ever trace it."
She sighed. "So, Ste is Ste. Raven Williams is someone else entirely."
Neville looked at her, surprised. "Your name in the Williams family was Raven?"
"Yes." Ste''s voice was soft, almost bitter. "Raven... the shadow at dawn. I suppose they thought it was poetic."
Abby spoke quietly. "Ste always hoped Star could have a real family. At first, Star tried to care about them, to fit in. But in the end..."
Abby''s expression darkened, her frustration clear.
"In the end, everyone-even Star''s own father-sided with that adopted girl. Star''s father was one thing, but even her three brothers, her own flesh and blood, turned their backs on her for the sake of that girl.
If it hadn''t been for that girl and her mother, Ste would never have had to leave her home behind."
There was one thing Abby didn''t say aloud.
If Star''s father wanted to take in that girl, fine. But to force Star''s mother to raise her, to make her the legal guardian after everything those two had done that was unthinkable.
Those two women had ruined Ste''s marriage. What was her father thinking? By now, Neville finally understood the whole story.