When is your father coming back?”
“Probably this evening. Why?”
“No reason.”
A few minutes later, he suddenly turned off the television. His expression was so serious that I instinctively sat up straighter.
“Emily, you’re a grown woman now. I think it’s time you learned something.”
“What is it?”
He walked over to the window and closed the curtains. Then he returned to the door and locked it. My heart began pounding.
“Uncle Richard, why are you locking the door?”
He turned toward me.
“So nobody walks in unexpectedly.”
“Who would walk in? We’re alone here.”
He remained silent for a moment. Then he said the words I will never forget.
“I’m going to show you something. But promise me you won’t tell anyone. Especially your father.”
I froze.
“Why especially Dad?”
“Because he’ll never forgive me.”
At that moment, I remembered every warning my father had given me. What
