You are still my little girl, Emma.
And I will love you for as long as love can exist.
Dad.
Emma finished reading.
She did not move.
Across the room, a clock ticked quietly.
Outside, someone laughed on the street.
The ordinary sounds of life felt strangely distant.
Her father had been gone for four years.
Yet in his letter, he had told her something she had never expected to hear.
He had been afraid.
The man who had always seemed capable of handling every crisis had spent years carrying a secret because he did not know how to confront it.
And now Emma was left with the truth he had been unable to share.
Love, Silence, and the Right to Know
For several minutes, Emma said nothing.
Elisabeth did not interrupt.
She simply sat across from her, allowing the silence to remain.
Eventually, Emma looked up.
“Did he ever tell you why he couldn't trust me with this?”
