“I’m just curious about one thing,” he began, his tone measured, though there was a bite beneath it. His voice was calm enough to pass for control, but Meret could hear the strain underneath.

“Why did you never speak to me about the things that happened between you and my daughter, Cassia? I mean—” he exhaled heavily through his nose, his eyes hardening as if the weight of his own words pressed into him—“I understand you kept to yourself after your father passed. But why ...