CHAPTER 2: THE LIE THAT STOLE TEN YEARS
No one spoke for several seconds.
The rain tapped softly against the broken windows while Nathan stared at the woman lying on the mattress.
His sister.
Alive.
The sister he had mourned for ten years.
The sister whose funeral he had never been allowed to attend because he was working overseas when it happened.
Nathan slowly knelt beside her.
"Emily..." he whispered.
The woman burst into tears.
This time she didn't try to hide them.
"I wanted to find you," she said weakly. "I tried so many times."
Nathan shook his head.
"They told me you died."
Emily closed her eyes.
"Because that's what they wanted you to believe."
The room became still.
Nathan felt his stomach tighten.
"What do you mean?"
Emily looked toward her children before answering.
"When Dad died, he left half of everything to you and half to me. Uncle Richard wanted all of it."
Nathan's face darkened.
Their uncle.
The man who had handled the family estate.
"He told everyone I disappeared."
Emily nodded.
"And he told me you wanted nothing to do with me."
The truth hit Nathan like a hammer.
Ten years.
Ten years stolen by one lie.
The little girl watched them quietly.
Then she walked over and gently took Nathan's hand.
"Are you really my uncle?"
Nathan looked into her hopeful eyes.
For the first time that night, he smiled.
"Yes."
The girl smiled back.
Then she wrapped her thin arms around him.
May you like
And Nathan silently promised himself something.
No one would ever abandon them again.
