Andrew didn’t care.
Andrew chose to disappear.
That was the truth I had accepted.
The truth I had repeated every time Leo asked questions.
The truth I had used to protect my son from feeling abandoned.
But now there was another truth.
And I was terrified of what it would reveal.
Leo opened the conversation again.
The first message from Andrew’s sister was simple.
“Hi, Leo. I know who you are. I knew this day might come eventually.”
I froze.
Eventually?
That one word made my stomach drop.
I looked at Leo.
“Why would she say that?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
I continued reading.
“Your mother probably thinks Andrew abandoned you. I understand why she would think that. But she never knew the whole story.”
My heart started racing.
Never knew the whole story.
Those words felt like someone had opened a door I had spent eighteen years keeping locked.
The message continued.
“My brother did not leave because he didn’t love you. He left because he believed it was the only way to protect you.”
I stopped breathing for a second.
Protect us?
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it sounded impossible.
The boy I remembered was a seventeen-year-old kid who ran away when things became difficult.
The boy I remembered was someone who looked at me with fear in his eyes after I told him I was pregnant.
He didn’t protect me.
He abandoned me.
At least, that was what I believed.
I kept reading.
“After Andrew found out you were pregnant, he was terrified. Not because of you or the baby. He was terrified because of what was happening inside his own family.”
I felt a chill run through me.
I had never known much about Andrew’s family.
They were quiet people.
His parents rarely came to school events.
They never invited me over.
I only knew Andrew had an older sister because Leo had just discovered her existence.
The message continued.
“Andrew’s father had been involved in serious legal problems. When everything started falling apart, he disappeared overnight and left behind debts that affected everyone.”
I stared at the screen.
Debts?
Legal problems?
None of this made sense.
“Andrew found out that some dangerous people were looking for his father. They came to the house asking questions. They threatened anyone connected to him.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Leo looked at me.
“Mom…”
I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
The last day I saw Andrew.
He wasn’t just scared.
He was terrified.
At the time, I thought he was scared of becoming a father.
But what if I was wrong?
