The message Elaine had asked Ashton to deliver was straightforward:

"My father is no longer here. I will speak of his origins at his gravesite, and nothing more is needed."

Throughout the years, only the Mercer family had offered Elaine the warmth and connection of familial love. She felt no attachment to other so-called relatives, nor did she see any reason to force a bond. Having endured so much, Elaine had learned that blood ties alone weren’t enough—they ...