"Did you know I was studying nursing?"
"Yes."
"How?"
He smiled.
"Your graduation announcement was posted online. Your aunt Margaret sent me a picture."
Emily looked surprised.
"You saw it?"
"Every photograph I could find."
She began crying.
"Why didn't you call?"
Daniel looked down.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of making things harder for you."
"How?"
"Your mother said you were angry. That you had moved on. That you didn't want me contacting you."
Emily's hand slowly withdrew.
"She told you that?"
"Yes."
"She told me you never wrote."
Daniel closed his eyes.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Emily whispered:
"How many letters?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Dozens."
She covered her mouth.
"Dozens?"
"Every birthday. Every Christmas. Every important day I knew about."
"Did you write when I graduated from high school?"
"Yes."
"When I got my scholarship?"
"Yes."
"When I turned eighteen?"
Daniel nodded.
Emily began shaking.
"Where are they?"
"I don't know. I sent them to the house."
Emily stared at the table.
She remembered the wooden box in the storage room.
The letters with her name.
The letters her mother had said were attempts to manipulate her.
Suddenly, everything felt different.
She looked at her father.
"Did you ever stop trying?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Not once."
That evening, Emily returned home alone.
She had barely slept during the drive.
Her mind kept returning to the same questions.
Why had her father left?
Why had he stayed away?
Why had her mother hidden the letters?
And what had Daniel meant when he said that staying would have cost her something important?
At seven, she went downstairs.
Vanessa was already in the kitchen.
She was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.
Emily walked directly to the storage room.
The old wooden box was still there.
It sat beneath a pile of holiday decorations.
Emily pulled it out.
The lid was dusty.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside were envelopes.
Dozens of them.
Some were yellow with age. Others were still sealed.
Every envelope had her name written in Daniel's handwriting.
Emily sat on the floor.
She picked up the first one.
To my Emily, on your thirteenth birthday.
Her breathing became uneven.
She opened it.
My beautiful girl,
I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I wish I could be there to see you blow out your candles. I hope you still like chocolate cake, and I hope you still make the same wish every year.
I want you to know that I love you. I am thinking about you every day. I am proud of you, even from far away.
If you ever feel lonely, remember that there is someone in this world who would cross every ocean just to see you smile.
Love always,
Dad.
Emily pressed the letter against her chest.
She opened another.
Then another.
There were letters for birthdays, Christmases, school achievements, and ordinary days.
One was written after she had broken her arm.
Another congratulated her on making the high school honor roll.
One was addressed to her on the day she turned eighteen.
The letters were filled with memories.
He remembered the names of her childhood friends. He remembered her favorite songs. He remembered the little promises he had made.
And in every letter, he repeated the same message.
I love you. I am proud of you. I have not forgotten you.
Emily began sobbing.
She hadn't been abandoned.
She had been separated from someone who had never stopped reaching for her.
Behind the letters was a larger envelope.
It contained documents.
Some were medical records.
Others were bank statements.
There was also a folded legal agreement bearing her mother's signature.
Emily unfolded it.
The first page contained a date.
It was the date her father had left.
She began reading.
And as she reached the final paragraph, her hands started shaking.
Because the agreement revealed that Daniel hadn't simply walked away from his family.
He had signed away something enormous.
Something that had belonged to him.
Something that had been intended for Emily.
And he had done it to protect her.
Emily read the document again.
Then she read it a third time.
It was a legal agreement concerning the ownership of Carter Electrical Services, the small electrical repair company her father had built over nearly twenty years.
The company had never been particularly famous. It had no enormous office building or fleet of expensive vehicles. Daniel had started it with a secondhand truck, a toolbox, and a few loyal customers.
But over time, it had become successful.
He had hired employees, secured contracts with several commercial properties, and developed a reputation for doing honest work.
The company had been the family's main source of income.
According to the document, Daniel had transferred his ownership interest to Vanessa shortly before their separation.
In exchange, Vanessa had agreed to assume responsibility for several outstanding business debts and maintain a financial account for Emily's education.
Emily stared at the numbers.
The account was supposed to contain enough money to cover her university education.
But there was something strange.
The agreement had been signed.
The ownership had been transferred.
Yet the education account had never been funded.
She turned another page.
There was a handwritten note attached to the back.
It was written by Daniel.
Emily, if you ever read this, please understand that I did not give up on you. I gave up something that mattered to me because I believed it would make your future safer.
Your mother promised that you would be protected.
I trusted her.
I hope I made the right decision.
Emily covered her mouth.
She heard footsteps behind her.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Vanessa looked at the documents.
"Put those away."
Emily slowly stood.
"Why did you keep these from me?"
"They are private business documents."
"They have my name on them."
"Emily, you don't understand what you're reading."
"Then explain it."
Vanessa crossed her arms.