The room became impossibly still. No one moved. No one breathed. Victoria Hale's words settled over them like a sentence. **"Because when you were twelve years old... you told your mother you trusted Evelyn more than her."**Elena stared at her. Blankly. Then, “No." The denial came automatically. Immediate. Instinctive. “I wouldn't have said that."Victoria's expression broke. “You did."Elena shook her head. “No.""You looked Eleanor in the eye," Victoria whispered, "and said Evelyn understood you better than anyone ever had." Silence. Then softer: “You said Evelyn never asked you to become smaller."The conference room blurred around Elena. A sharp pain pulsed behind her eyes. Then, a memory.**Twenty years earlier.**"I don't understand why everyone's upset." Twelve-year-old Elena sat cross-legged on the floor of the Carter estate library. Evelyn Mercer lounged on the sofa opposite her, reading a book upside down."Is it because they love me?" Elena replied.Evelyn snorted. “No.
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