The gardener swallowed hard.

“Not here, son. And if you want to know the real story, don’t go back to that woman yet.”

I opened the letter right there. The very first line read: Son, if you’re reading this, it means Reagan has already started lying to you.

That was the moment I realized my dad’s death wasn’t the end of it. It was the start of something much worse.

PART 2

My dad wrote the letter in his usual messy, blocky handwriting. Reading it felt like he was talking to me straight from the grave.

Son, I’m so sorry I never came to visit you, the letter said. It wasn’t because I thought you were guilty. It was because by the time I finally realized what they’d done to you, I was already very sick, and they were watching my every move.