Slowly, our small family of two became three.

We married last year in a small backyard ceremony, with Leo standing between us holding both our hands.

For the first time in years, I realized we were no longer just surviving.

We were living.

Then one night everything changed.

Amelia shook my shoulder in the darkness.

“Oliver,” she whispered. “You need to wake up right now.”

“Is Leo okay?”

She looked terrified.

“I went to fix his bunny,” she said softly. “The stuffed one he carries everywhere… and never lets anyone touch. It had a rip in the seam. I thought I’d sew it while he was asleep.”

Her voice trembled.

“I found something inside, Ollie. A flash drive. Hidden in the stuffing. I watched what was on it. All of it.”

My heart stopped.

“Leo’s been hiding something from you for years,” she added. “Something about his father. About his past.”

In the kitchen we inserted the flash drive into a laptop.

There was only one file.

When it started playing, Nora appeared on the screen.

“Hi, my sweet boy,” Nora whispered. “If you’re watching this someday, I need you to know the truth. And I need you to forgive me.”