“Derek knows I kept copies. Don’t destroy these.”
Derek had spent weeks trying to put his lie inside Ryan’s boxes. The truth had been sitting there the whole time.
I gave everything to the detectives.
Between Ryan’s records, the forged documents, and the camera, Derek was eventually charged.
He’d tried to use my son to bury what Ryan knew. Instead, he’d led police straight to it.
Weeks later, Ethan needed another haircut.
“Tony?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Marcus.”
When we walked into the shop, Marcus grinned. “Back already?”
Ethan climbed into his chair. “Check behind both ears this time.”
Marcus laughed. “Absolutely.”
I laughed too, although my eyes burned. Afterward, Ethan and I went home and opened another box.
For three years, I’d thought protecting my son meant helping him build a life that wasn’t constantly shadowed by the father he’d lost.
I hadn’t realized Ethan wasn’t trying to live in Ryan’s shadow.
