Caleb grabbed the papers and read every page twice. The anger that had fueled him for years disappeared, replaced by disbelief and overwhelming regret. He looked at Katherine as though seeing her for the first time. His carefully planned revenge had been aimed at someone completely innocent.

Grace felt tears fill her eyes as she realized how deeply her son had changed. The respectful young man she had raised had allowed bitterness to become stronger than trust. Robert quietly stepped between them, fearing Katherine was too frightened to remain in the room another second.

Katherine’s voice was barely above a whisper. “If you had simply asked me years ago, I would have shown you everything.” She explained that she kept the letters hidden because Beatrice had begged her not to expose the truth after leaving town. Katherine believed everyone deserved the chance to move on, never imagining the lie was still destroying lives.

For the first time that night, Caleb tried to apologize. The words stumbled out one after another, but they sounded empty against the pain in Katherine’s eyes. Some wounds were simply too deep to heal with apologies alone-