“Our father isn’t standing on this stage with us today.”
My heart stopped.
Eric.
The name came into my mind instantly.
Of course.
Maybe they had found him.
Maybe he was sick.
Maybe he had died.
Maybe they wanted to publicly forgive him.
Every insecurity I had buried for twenty-two years came rushing back at once.
Sophie continued.
“When we were babies, our biological father went through something he couldn’t handle, and he walked away.”
The room became silent.
I stared at the stage.
“We grew up knowing that story,” she said. “But we also grew up believing another story.”
Lily stepped closer.
“That the man who raised us did it because he had to.”
My throat tightened.
Brooke wiped her cheek.
“He always called it responsibility.”
People around me began turning.
I wanted to disappear.
Sophie looked straight at me.
“But a few months ago, while we were helping him clean out the apartment, we found something in the kitchen.”
