Your mother Rachel did not abandon you because she did not love you. She gave you to someone she believed would keep you safe while she recovered from an illness. Your uncle Daniel promised me he knew where you had gone. For twenty years, he told me you were safe.
The room went silent.
My brain refused the words.
“Uncle Daniel?”
I turned to my brother.
“What is she talking about?”
Daniel’s face had become gray.
Ethan continued reading.
Two years ago, I discovered Daniel never knew where you were. Worse, I found evidence that he had been paid to stay silent when the foster placement failed.
Ethan stopped.
The letter trembled.
I stared at Daniel.
“Paid by whom?”
He said nothing.
“Daniel.”
His voice cracked.
“It wasn’t what Mom thought.”
Ethan’s eyes hardened.
“Then tell me what it was.”
Daniel stood again.
“I was twenty-seven.”
“What does that mean?”
