CHAPTER EIGHTY TWO – UNEXPECTED CONFESSION

Lance remained tense, eyes fixed on the doorway through which his mother had vanished. The strained lines around his mouth betrayed the complicated emotions roiling beneath the surface. A liveried butler appeared, arranging a full tea service on the ornate coffee table. No sooner had he withdrawn than Barbara swept back in and settled herself in a wingback chair, back ramrod straight. "Well?" she prompted, arching one eyebrow. "Out with it then. What answers are you hoping to wrench from me after all these years?" Sienna took a steadying breath. "I just...I need to know why. Why you gave me up. Why you kept me a secret from Lance, from this whole side of the family?" For a long moment, Barbara was silent, studying her intensely. Then, almost imperceptibly, her rigid posture seemed to soften, weariness creasing her elegantly sculpted features. "It wasn't an easy decision," she said at last, her clipped tones softening slightly. "Your father had...well, he'd left us. Abandoned his r