I shook my head.
"That's what your father told mine."
He went silent.
Then he whispered:
"Sarah, there's something about my father I haven't told you."
I looked at him.
"What now?"
Nigel swallowed.
"He didn't die twelve years ago."
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at him.
"What?"
"He disappeared. The death announcement was arranged after an investigation into the foundation began."
My mouth went dry.
"Your father is alive?"
Nigel nodded.
"I haven't seen him in years. But I learned recently that he's been involved with the institute again."
I could barely breathe.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I was trying to find him before anyone else got hurt."
I stared at the man I had married.
The man whose hands had held mine through childbirth.
The man who had described the changing seasons to me.
The man who had kissed my forehead every night and promised that one day I would see the world.
