But still hers.
“If you are hearing this, then something happened that made you search for the truth.”
My eyes filled instantly.
I covered my mouth.
“First, I need you to know something.”
A pause.
“I never left because I wanted to leave you.”
I closed my eyes.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
For years.
For years, I had carried the quiet belief that maybe I wasn’t enough.
Maybe she chose another life.
Maybe I was not worth staying for.
But now…
Her voice was telling me something different.
“I left because I discovered something about your father.”
The recording continued.
“And I was afraid that if I stayed, you would become trapped in the same world I was trying to escape.”
I sat completely still.
My father.
The man whose name had shaped my childhood.
The man everyone trusted.
“What did you discover?” I whispered.
As if she could hear me.
The recording continued.
“There are things you were too young to understand.”
A pause.
“But now you are older. Now you can decide what kind of person you want to become.”
I wiped my face.
“Your father kept secrets.”
My heart tightened.
“He told people I was unstable. He told people I abandoned you.”
The room felt colder.
“But the truth is…”
The recording suddenly became distorted.
The sound broke apart.
I leaned closer.
“No…”
I tapped the recorder.
“Please.”
The static grew louder.
Then her voice returned.
Only for a few seconds.
“The truth is that your father…”
The recording cut off.
