My father threw me out on my eighteenth birthday, stole the $3,000 I’d saved from working after school, and used it for my stepbrother. Nine days later, while I was digging through a restaurant dumpster for something to eat, a stranger in an expensive suit called my name and told me my supposedly dead grandfather had left me everything. But there was one condition nobody had warned me about.

I continued reading.

When I finally discovered the truth, I was already ill. You were nearly eighteen. I wanted to see you, but I was afraid of appearing in your life only because I had money to offer.

So I made arrangements instead.

The house in Bellmere is not merely a home. It contains your mother’s belongings, my records, and the truth about what happened between us.

Live there for one year.

Do not sell it before you understand why I kept it.

Your father will tell you that I abandoned your mother. He may even tell you that I was responsible for her leaving.

Listen to him if you choose. But read the records first.

Whatever you decide after that, the choice will be yours.

I am sorry I waited too long.

Your grandfather,
James

I set the letter down.

For several minutes, I couldn’t move.

My father had always spoken of my grandfather with a flat, dismissive contempt.