Martina let out a small, choked sob and reached her hand out, but I held her back gently.

I wanted to hear everything he had to say.

I needed to know if he truly understood what he had done to us.

“You warned me, Daniela,” my father said, raising his head to look directly into my eyes.

“You told me she was changing things, that she was trying to replace your mother,” he said.

“And instead of listening to my oldest daughter, I got angry. I defended her.”

He shook his head, his face contorted with self-loathing.

“I am so sorry,” he said, his voice breaking completely. “I am so deeply sorry.”

He turned his gaze to Rosa.

“Rosa, you protected my children when I failed to do so,” he said. “You stood by them even when I threatened to fire you.”

Rosa wiped a tear from her own cheek with the corner of her apron.

“They are my family, Señor Emiliano,” Rosa said softly. “I could never leave them.”

“You are more of a parent to them than I have been lately,” my father said, his voice thick with emotion.