His expression shifted slightly, a mixture of surprise and sorrow. “I had hoped you would never find out like this,” he murmured. “But I’m glad you did.”

We spent the next hour unraveling the tangled threads of our family’s past. He spoke of mistakes made in his youth, of a longing to connect without causing more pain. He had watched from a distance, knowing it was the only way to truly support us without reopening old wounds.