Elisabeth considered the question carefully.
“I think he loved you more than he knew how to express. But love can make people afraid, Emma. And sometimes, in trying to spare someone pain, we take away their chance to make their own choices.”
Those words followed Emma all the way home.
Sophie was setting the table when Emma walked into the kitchen.
“Mum! Where have you been? I called you three times.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I needed to visit someone.”
Sophie looked at her mother’s face and immediately put down the plates.
“What happened?”
Emma took a deep breath.
“There’s something about our family that I need to tell you.”
They sat at the kitchen table.
Emma explained the letter, the threats, and the photographs. She told Sophie that Lucas’s mother had once asked to meet her, but that Emma’s father had kept the information hidden.
She did not soften the truth to make it easier.
