“My boat exploded,” he said. “The world assumed I died.”
“But you survived.”
“Barely.”
“Why didn’t you come back?”
His eyes met mine.
“Because the people who framed me threatened your mother. Then they threatened you.”
Anger rose inside me so quickly that my vision blurred.
All those birthdays.
All those empty chairs.
All those years of believing I had not been loved enough to keep.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I did.”
His answer struck harder than an excuse would have.
“I watched from a distance,” he said. “I sent money through your grandmother. I made sure you were protected.”
“Protected?” My voice cracked. “I married into the family that destroyed you.”
Pain passed across his face.
“That was the one thing none of us predicted.”
