Leo, she wrote, your father didn’t abandon your mother. He loved her fiercely. On the night she told him she was pregnant, Andrew didn’t run away in fear—he ran to his father, demanding his share of a trust fund to buy a house for your mom and you. But Andrew’s father was a deeply corrupt man involved in organized interstate fraud. When Andrew threatened to go to the authorities to expose his father’s illegal businesses if he didn’t give him his money, his father panicked.
My stomach dropped into a cold, bottomless pit. Andrew’s father had always seemed like a cold, distant businessman, but I had never imagined the dark reality behind their grand suburban house.
That very night, the text continued, Andrew’s father forced the entire family to pack up under threat of violence, moving them across the country under false identities to evade federal prosecution. Andrew fought him every step of the way. He tried to run back to your mother’s house three times, but his father had him forcibly held at a private facility in Oregon until he turned eighteen.
Tears flooded my eyes, dripping onto the glass screen as I read the final paragraph.
Andrew spent years searching for your mom after he escaped his father’s control, Leo. But your mom had moved, and his father had wiped their digital records. Andrew never stopped loving her. And he never stopped looking for both of you.
To see where Andrew is today and the final reunion, continue reading below for Part 3.
