I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on me. Emma’s small sobs quieted as she clung to my neck, her small body trembling. I looked around the table, seeing the eyes of my family fixed on me, waiting for my next words. All those years of silence, all the secrets kept to protect a facade that had long since cracked. It was time to shatter it completely.
“Do you remember Uncle James?” I asked, letting the question hang in the air. A flicker of recognition passed over my mother’s face, and Caroline’s eyes narrowed with confusion. Of course, she wouldn’t remember. She was too young when it happened.
Uncle James, my mother’s brother, had been the black sheep of the family—a man whose name was whispered in hushed tones and never discussed openly. He had lived a life that did not fit the mold of our family’s expectations, and for that, he had been cast out.
