“I changed my hair, I used my middle name, and I prayed you wouldn’t recognize me.”

“You never looked at me anyway,” she added softly. “You were always so busy, so consumed by your work and your grief.”

The truth of her words stung, but I knew she was right.

“I thought if you found out who I was, you would ruin me,” she said, looking straight into my eyes.

“I thought you would use your wealth to take them away completely, to put me in jail.”

“I was terrified of you, Daniel.”

“I am not my father, Claire,” I said.

“I know that now,” she whispered. “But back then, all I knew was the Whitmore name and the power it carried.”

“I just wanted to hear Lucas laugh,” she said, a small, sad smile breaking through her tears.

“I wanted to see Owen learn how to tie his shoes.”

“I wanted to be there to make sure they were safe, even if I had to wash your floors and fold your laundry to do it.”

I looked down at the envelope in my lap, containing the medical records and the hidden correspondence.