“My uncle once asked me, ‘Are you a virgin?’ when I was already 27 years old. From that moment, I started to be afraid of him. And a few days later, when he took me to a hotel outside the city, he leaned close to my ear by the pool and whispered, ‘After the pool, come up to my room…’

“I handled this terribly, Emily. I should never have asked you that question the way I did. I should have explained what I knew and allowed you to decide whether you wanted to hear more.”

For the first time that day, I believed him.

Not because he had explained everything.

But because he had finally stopped demanding that I trust him.

I sat down across from him.

“Tell me about Claire.”

Richard took a breath.

“Claire was your father’s first love. They were young, and their relationship ended badly. Years later, she returned to the city with a little girl. Your father helped her financially, but he never told your mother the full story.”