They presented my twin daughters as their own children.
And me as their oldest daughter.
“But who was their father?” I asked again.
My aunt was sobbing.
“Your mother was more afraid of him than anyone else.”
She handed me another envelope.
Inside was a medical document.
Beneath the section identifying the father was a name.
Robert Williams.
I knew that name.
It was the name of the man I had called my father my entire life.
Susan screamed.
Linda grabbed the edge of the table.
I felt the room spinning around me.
“Are you telling me that he…?”
My aunt nodded.
“He wasn’t your biological father, Mary. But while you were living in their house, he abused you. Your mother knew. She tried to leave him, but Robert threatened to kill all of you.”
I couldn’t breathe.
The man who had taught me how to ride a bicycle…
