father’s voice cracked.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see it until the damage was done. And by then… you were already inside.”
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
“I tried to undo it. Quietly. I collected everything. I hid it. I transferred what I could to protect it. I didn’t confront them because… I was dying, Eli. And if I went to war in my own house, I would’ve died alone, in a room full of people who hated me.”
He exhaled.
“
