Alice’s voice was drowned in desperation as she revealed a secret none of us had been prepared to face. “Mom said this would happen,” she confessed urgently. “She said Dad doesn’t listen when it’s important. She warned us someone would get hurt.”
My mind, though clouded with pain, latched onto those words. It was as if Alice was a beacon in the haze of disbelief shrouding our family. Her pleas were a final attempt to unveil the truth that had been cloaked in denial and past grievances.