“He is his half brother.”
The room went silent.
I stared at Rick.
“Your half brother?”
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
He didn’t answer.
“Rick.”
Still nothing.
Anna stepped forward.
“Because there’s more.”
Rick’s face hardened.
“Anna, stop.”
She looked at me.
“Do you remember telling me that William stopped contacting you when you were nineteen?”
I nodded.
I had always assumed that was what happened.
We had broken up.
He moved away.
Life continued.
At least, that’s what I believed.
Anna reached into her bag again.
She pulled out a small bundle of old envelopes.
“I found these with the photographs.”
I stared at them.
My name was written on several.
My old address was written on some.
My handwriting wasn’t there.
But the letters were addressed to me.
“Where did you get these?”
“William gave them to me.”
My heart stopped.
“William?”
“He is alive.”
I sat down.
For nearly twenty years, I had believed William had simply moved on.
But Anna had found him.
And he had told her something that changed everything.
He had tried to contact me.
Again and again.
He had written letters.
He had called.
He had tried to find me.
