Chapter 13 - Andrew Tells Victoria Everything
Back home, Andrew gave Victoria every file his investigator had
collected.
No hidden pages.
No edited summary.
He apologized for keeping Claire’s survival secret for three weeks.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
Victoria looked at him.
“That sentence has caused enough damage in this family.”
He nodded.
“You’re right.”
Their marriage had already been struggling because Andrew often made
decisions alone and explained afterward.
This time, Victoria refused to let crisis erase that problem.
They entered counseling.
Not because Claire returned.
Because both finally understood what secrecy had been doing to them.
Andrew also apologized to Lily.
He did not tell her Caroline was simply “bad.”
He explained that adults had frightened her with a story that was not
true.
Lily asked:
“Daddy, were you taking me?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
May you like
She crawled into his lap.
For Andrew, that trust mattered more than being proven right.
