I Turned 18 With No Cake, No Card, and No Birthday Wishes—Only My Father, Stepmother, and Stepbrother Sitting There Like They Knew What Was Coming.
I Turned 18 With No Cake, No Card, and No Birthday Wishes—Only My Father, Stepmother, and Stepbrother Sitting There Like They Knew What Was Coming.
He changed his will.”
I swallowed hard.
“To me?”
“To you.”
My heart hammered.
“But why?”
Richard studied me for a long moment.
“Because your grandfather had been watching you.”
I almost laughed.
“Watching me?”
“Yes.”
“For seventeen years?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he ever contact me?”
Richard’s expression shifted.
“He tried.”
I went completely still.
“What do you mean?”
“Letters were sent.”
“How many?”
“Thirty-two.”
My mouth went dry.
“Thirty-two?”
“Birthday cards. Christmas letters. Photographs. Invitations.”
I stared at him.
“I never received any.”
“I know.”
Richard reached into his briefcase again and removed a file.
Inside were copies of envelopes.
Every one addressed to me.
Nathan Brooks.
My childhood address.
My school address.
Even my name written in handwriting that somehow looked familiar.
“I don’t understand.”
Richard laid the file across the hood of my car.
“Your grandfather hired a private investigator six years ago.”
“Why?”
“To find
I Turned 18 With No Cake, No Card, and No Birthday Wishes—Only My Father, Stepmother, and Stepbrother Sitting There Like They Knew What Was Coming.
out why you never answered.”
I looked at him.
“And what did he discover?”
Richard paused.
“Your father had been intercepting the mail.”
Silence.
Suddenly, the alley felt too small around me.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Richard didn’t argue.
Instead, he opened another folder.
Inside were photographs.
My father standing beside a mailbox.
My father carrying envelopes into the house.
My father shredding papers.
My father throwing something into a trash bin.
Dates appeared beneath every photograph.
Six years ago.
Five years ago.
Four years ago.
Three.
Two.
One.
My hands started trembling.
“He knew,” I whispered.
“He knew your grandfather was trying to reach you.”
Richard nodded.
“And he made sure you never knew.”
I turned away.
For eighteen years, I’d believed my grandfather had abandoned us.
I’d spent birthdays wondering why I didn’t have grandparents.
I’d told myself maybe he didn’t want me.
Maybe
