“They beat our daughter, Sarah,” he said, his voice flat.

I had no answer for that.

Chloe stirred on the sofa. “Dad, please don’t make it worse.”

His cold expression cracked. He sat beside her again, carefully, as if the sofa were holy ground. “I made it worse years ago, when I disappeared from your life because I was too proud to admit I’d failed you.”

Chloe blinked through her tears. “I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

He closed his eyes. “I wanted you every single day. But wanting you wasn’t the same as showing up. That’s on me.”