Chapter 52

“He couldn’t draw Colin’s attention to you. It might have put you in danger. I know you think your childhood was hard on you, but for Jamison, it was torture.”

“Then why didn’t he just leave and take us away?” Evan’s voice wavered more than he would have liked.

“As I said, he wasn’t a strong man. And he had no money of his own—nothing to support a family with, not even any life insurance. And without Colin’s approval, no one in this city would have given him a job.”

“But my college was paid for. I always assumed it was some kind of life insurance or bequest.”

Vera smiled. “No, that was me. It took me a while, but once I found I had a natural knack for investing, I built up a sizeable fortune of my own.” She gestured to an alcove behind him he hadn’t noticed. It was bristling with the best and latest computer technology.

“You paid my tuition?” Evan was dizzy from the layers of secrets he was uncovering. The mystery donor finally had a name.