Levi looked terrified, and suddenly I understood that he was not running from me because he had done something wrong.
He was running because someone had taught him to be afraid.
“Why did you run?” I asked carefully.
Levi looked down.
“My dad told me if anyone ever used the name Jesse Whitaker, I was supposed to leave immediately and call him. No questions. No explanations. Just leave.”
The words landed like stones in my stomach.
He had prepared his son for this.
Not because he wanted to be found.
Because he was afraid of it.
“Levi,” I said softly, “I have spent almost my whole life not knowing whether my brother was alive or dead. If your father is Jesse, I need to see him.”
Levi rubbed both hands over his face.
