I stared at my phone, reading Mrs. Johnson's text message again. The words seemed to jump off the screen: "Juliana, I'd like to meet your husband. Please bring him over when you have time."
My stomach twisted into knots. Mrs. Johnson wanted to meet Nathaniel? This had to be Imogen's doing. She must have gone home and told her mother some exaggerated version of what happened at the Ricardo mansion.
"Bad news?" Nathaniel's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
We were sitting in his grandmother's garden after our conversation with Old Mrs. Margaret. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across his face.
"It's Mrs. Johnson," I said, showing him the text. "She wants to meet you."
His eyebrows rose slightly. "Your mother wants to meet me?"
"Not my birth mother. Mrs. Johnson—Evelyn Bella. She's the legitimate wife of Cameron Johnson." I bit my lip. "She's the only person in that family who ever showed me kindness."
