Alistair sat down on the ground and wept, holding the letters against his chest. For ten years, Nellie had invented a loving father so their son would feel wanted.

She had done the job he’d refused to do.

At the bottom of the bag was a school notebook. Inside, in a child’s careful hand, Sawyer had written: When I grow up, I want to be a doctor like my dad and help poor kids for free.

Alistair carried the notebook to the hospital. “Sawyer wanted to be a doctor,” he told her.

She smiled through her tears. “He always said a good hospital should help people before it asks them for money.”

“I’m going to make his dream real,” Alistair said.