"Which is why this is going to hurt you," I said, wishing I didn't have to tell her. "Dad told me that he's not our biological father. He didn't even meet Mom until we were three months old. He said he fell in love with all of us at the same time, and he wanted us to be a family, so they got married, and he adopted us. He and Mom agreed that they would never tell us the truth."

"Why would he tell you now?" she challenged.

"He didn't mean to. It came out as part of his drunken ramblings last night. I brought it back up this morning, and he told me everything. He said he was sorry that he'd let the secret out, that he'd loved us like his own. But we are not his biological children."

"Who's our father?"

"He doesn't know. Mom told him the guy wasn't a good guy and she didn't want him to know about us. He apparently didn't ask any more questions."

"This is unbelievable."

"I know. It's one shock after another."

"Does he know why Mom left?"

"He doesn't seem to know, but to be honest, after he dropped this bomb on me, I couldn't talk to him anymore, and I came upstairs. I needed a minute to regroup."

"Does Vicky know that he's not our dad?"

"He said he told her a long time ago." I paused, tensing as another question ran through me. "You didn't have any idea, did you?"

"Of course not," Dani said sharply. "How could you ask me that, Brynn?"

"You just seem a little quieter than I thought you would be."

"I'm trying to process everything."

"I told Dad that the police want to talk to him. He's not eager to do that, and I know why. The public fight he had with Mom right before she got shot won't look good. And the fact that he's been drunk and missing ever since then will lend more credence to the idea that he got angry and shot her."

"But he didn't do that."

"I don't think he could have. He was a slobbery mess last night. As much as I hate him for keeping this secret from us, seeing how devastated he is, I think he really loved Mom."

"I always thought he did," Dani said. "Have you learned anything else?"

I still didn't want to tell her about my kidnapping, so I went with Jeremy's theory of witness protection. After I'd filled her in on that idea, there was another long silence.

"Well," Dani said finally. "There's a lot to think about, isn’t there?"

"Yes. And a lot to still be discovered. We have a father out there in the world."

"Who is not a good guy. Maybe he's the one who shot Mom. Maybe he's the one she's been running away from this whole time."