She left her phone behind so I couldn’t call her. I stood in the spare room—Elodie’s clothing and make-up scattered all over the floor. I had no idea where she had gone. Out for breakfast? Would she be back any moment? I was contemplating contacting Sophie but my sister got there first. I answered my cell.“What the fuck,” Sophie began, her voice a pack of ice.I knew what she was referring to. I couldn’t resist an, I told you so. “Well, if you hadn’t been so gung-ho about having meetings with that shifty bastard in the first place—”“Yeah, yeah, it’s all my fault. And now Elodie hates me because of Alessandra.”“You should have talked to her a long time ago about all that. What did you expect? Elodie’s an adult now; she had a right to know. You betrayed her by not trusting her and keeping her in the dark. So yes, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you to repair the damage.”Sophie groaned into the receiver. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, dear brother.”“Sophie, you need to come out of the closet.
