After my daughter called me USELESS, I sold everything and disappeared. She thought she’d inherit, but she never imagined I’d vanish along with ALL THE MONEY.

—And Clara?

—He learned to read.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

I could imagine her proud smile.

—I’m glad to hear it.

Lily remained silent.

Then he said something I didn’t expect.

—Mom… can I ask you something?

-Clear.

—Why did you leave without saying anything to me?

The question floated between us.

I took a deep breath before answering.

—Because if I had told you… you would have tried to stop me.

-Maybe.

—And I couldn’t stay anymore.

There was a long silence.

Then Lily whispered:

—I thought that one day everything would be mine.

The words were honest.

Painfully honest.

-I know.

—But when you came back into my life… with the children… I thought maybe we could start over.