My daughter’s last wish was to see the sunrise from the Grand Canyon – Minutes before dawn, a park ranger approached us and said, “Your doctor told me I had to talk to you before the sun came out”

A black bar covered almost the entire line.

But whoever had redacted the document had left one field visible.

Name: Ethan.

My fingers went numb.

“E-E-E…”

Hailey looked up.

“Mom?”

I pointed to the page.

Dr. Carter’s expression told me everything before he even opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ethan?”

He sighed.

“Yes.”

I stepped away from the desk so abruptly that my chair struck the wall.

“No.”

“Please sit down.”

“He… left her.”

“I know what happened.”

“No, you know what he told you.”

Hailey looked between us.

“Dad paid for this?”

I tried to answer, but the words caught in my throat.

“You think you can d-disappear for years and then b-buy your way back into her life?”

Dr. Carter shook his head.

“He specifically asked that I not mention his name.”

“That makes everything worse!”

“Mom.”

I looked at Hailey.

She was still staring at Ethan’s name on the page.