“Something that could destroy everything Samuel had spent his life building.”
Then the recording abruptly stopped.
I pressed PLAY again.
Nothing.
The cassette had ended.
Behind me, a voice whispered:
“So now you know.”
I spun around.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
He looked exhausted.
His hair was disheveled, and the confidence he had worn so effortlessly in the bar was gone.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then anger rushed through me.
I stood.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You came looking for me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew who I was before you sat down.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe—”
My voice cracked.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
“You told me Robert was your father.”
“He was.”
“No. He wasn’t.”
Daniel looked at me again.
“Not by bl/o/od.”
His expression changed.
“But
Samuel gave me life. Robert taught me how to live it.”
I hated how much those words affected me.
