“Of his intentions,” Claire said. “Men don’t date women thirty years older for romance.”
Margaret’s voice trembled, but she didn’t lower it. “You think I don’t know the difference between affection and manipulation?”
The dinner ended early. Neither child hugged her goodbye. For the first time since Thomas’s funeral, Margaret cried—not from grief, but from humiliation. Within a week, the whispers began.
Claire called daily, questioning Daniel’s job, his finances, his past relationships. Ethan quietly contacted a lawyer friend to “look into” Daniel’s background.
When Margaret discovered this, her hands shook.
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