The nurse’s words echoed in my mind long after the call ended. There are things you need to know. I couldn’t shake the feeling that my father’s death was going to open doors that had long been shut, and not just the doors to my painful past.
I flew back for the funeral, the memories of my childhood home as vivid as ever. The house, once my sanctuary, now felt like a mausoleum of my lost innocence. Vivien had taken charge of everything, as she always did, ensuring that I was nothing more than a bystander in my own father’s farewell. Her control extended to the funeral arrangements, where my presence felt almost ceremonial rather than familial.
