Chapter 6
PART 6:
Her father stepped aside, opening the door wider.
“Would you come in? Please?”
Emma looked into the hallway where she had learned to walk.
Where she had cried over report cards.
Where she had packed a suitcase at nineteen with shaking hands while her mother cried in the kitchen and did nothing.
For a moment, the past pulled at her.
Then Leo’s hand tightened again.
Emma looked down.
He was not ready.
And honestly, neither was she.
“Not today,” she said.
Her mother pressed a hand to her chest.
But she did not argue.
That mattered.
For once, they let Emma’s no be enough.
Mr. Lawson returned to the car, leaving the family in the quiet aftermath of the truth.
Emma turned to leave.
Her father called after her.
“Emma.”
She stopped but did not turn around.
“I’m proud of you,” he said.
The words came too late.
But they came.
Emma closed her eyes.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Then she wiped it away before Leo could worry.
She turned halfway back.
“You should be proud of him,” she said. “He survived being hated before he was even known, and he still has a kind heart.”
Her father broke down completely then.
Emma did not stay to comfort him.
That was not her job anymore.
She walked Leo down the porch steps and toward the car.
Halfway there, Leo looked back at the house.
“Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Was Dad’s necklace really his?”
Emma touched the silver compass around his neck.
“Yes.”
Leo held it between his fingers.
“Did he love us?”
Emma smiled through the ache.
“He loved me. And if he had lived long enough to meet you, he would have loved you more than anything.”
Leo nodded.
Then, after a long silence, he asked,
“Can I think about the letters?”
Emma kissed the top of his head.
May you like
“You can take all the time you need.”
👉 Three months later, the first letter arrived — and Leo’s answer proved Emma had raised him stronger than anyone knew…
