I looked at the two boys in the photograph again.
Daniel had already died.
“He spent his whole life thinking he had no family.”
“Yes.”
“And when he finally found his brother, he was already gone.”
“But his son wasn’t.”
Ethan.
Suddenly, everything Jack had done looked different.
Ethan is Daniel’s son.
“That’s why he couldn’t walk away.”
Mrs. Bennett nodded.
***
That night, Mara came back.
I let her inside. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
Everything Jack had done looked different.
Mara looked at my stomach. “You really need me to answer that?”
“Yes.”
“He watched you sell your jewelry.”
“I chose to.”
“You took a loan against your house.”
“I chose that too.”
That’s why he couldn’t walk away.
“You were pregnant, raising Lucy, driving him to treatment, fighting insurers, barely sleeping.”
“So?”
“So he knew what you’d do if he told you about Ethan.”
“What?”
“Say yes. Help him. Maybe even offer to take Ethan before you stopped to ask whether you could handle it.”
I chose that too.
“He thought I’d do that?”
“He knew you would.”
“Then why leave me the letter?”
“Because telling you Ethan existed wasn’t the same as deciding his future for you.”
He knew what you’d do.
I looked away. “He should’ve told me.”
“Yes.”
“I loved him. That doesn’t make what he did right.”
“No.”
“But now I understand it.”
He should’ve told me.
“That’s different from forgiving him.”
“I know.”
“And the money?”
“Part of Ethan’s trust came from Daniel’s estate. Jack protected your benefits too.”
I laughed through my tears. “Of course he made spreadsheets.”
“So many spreadsheets.”
That doesn’t make what he did right.
“He knew I’d investigate.”
“Absolutely.”
“And that I’d be furious.”
“Terrified, actually.”
For the first time since the funeral, I laughed.
