Home Entertainment Game Technology Advertisement Part 2: For eight years, my parents made me leave the house every time my brother brought his fiance over; Mom said, “She comes from a good family, don’t embarrass us”; Dad added, “Just disappear for the weekend”; I did; then one weekend, I never came back; it took them four years to find out where I went.

Now he sat beside a lawyer.

I asked:

“Why?”

Dad began with the business.

“I was going to lose everything.”

“What?”

“The house.”

“The company.”

“Your mother's retirement.”

“Insurance premiums had been paid for years.”

I stared.

“So you thought the policy owed you.”

“No.”

He stopped.

Then:

“At the time, yes.”

Better.

Mom said:

“We thought we could pay it back.”

I laughed.

“To an insurance company?”

“To the church?”

“To me?”

No answer.

Dad whispered:

“Once the claim cleared, Neil said correcting it would expose everybody.”

“So you kept me dead.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't you just let me move out?”

Mom's face crumpled.

“I was afraid.”

“Of what?”

“If you moved, you'd change addresses.”

“People would find you.”

“Someone connected to Avery might see you.”

My throat tightened.

“So you kept me home to keep me hidden.”

“We thought it was temporary.”

Ruth snorted.

Mom glared.

Ruth said: