was wearing a white hospital gown.
“Back then, your father was involved in a terrible car accident,” Richard began. “For a long time, the doctors couldn’t say whether he would ever walk again.”
I knew about the accident, but my father had never told me the details.
“Your mother was still his fiancée. They were planning to get married. But after the accident, Daniel decided to cancel the wedding.”
“Why?”
“He believed he would become a burden to your mother. He asked me to return her engagement ring and tell her he no longer wanted to marry her.”
I looked at the red box.
“And you did that?”
“No. I went to Linda and told her the truth. She refused to abandon my brother.”
My uncle pointed to the photographs.
“These were taken on the day your mother completed a volunteer caregiving course at the hospital. She wanted to
