"He bought me another drink," Frank continues. "Told me he knew people who could help. People who could scare you straight, Lucy. Make you see what kind of danger you were putting yourself in."
His voice cracks again. "I thought he meant they'd talk to you. Maybe show up at the clinic and warn you about club life. I didn't think..." He swallows hard. "I didn't think they'd take you. Hurt you. I swear to God I didn't know."
"But you gave him the information." Even to my own ears, my voice sounds dangerous. "You told a stranger where your daughter worked. What she looked like. Who she was seeing."
I hold his stare. "You handed her over."
Frank's face crumples.
"Yeah." He nods once. "I did. And I'll live with that for the rest of my life."
Lucy sits perfectly still beside me. I can feel her shaking.
"You were so angry at me for choosing Tiny that you told a stranger how to find me."
"I wasn't thinking straight," Frank says quickly. "I was drunk, angry, and scared of losing you."
"You already lost me."
Her voice isn't loud, but it cuts through the room.
She stands.
"You lost me the day you told me my dreams didn't matter. The day you said my only value was finding a husband." Tears spill down her cheeks, but she doesn't look away from him. "You lost me every time you brushed off what I wanted because you thought you knew better."
Frank lowers his head.
"And then..." Her voice catches. She wipes at her face before looking at him again. "You almost got me killed because you couldn't stand that I chose someone who actually sees me."
His shoulders sag.
"You're right."
His voice barely carries across the room.
"About all of it."
He looks over at Karen.
"I've spent years telling myself I was protecting my family." He lets out a humorless laugh. "That's what I called it anyway."
Karen's eyes stay fixed on him.
"But I wasn't protecting anyone." He shakes his head slowly. "I was controlling everything because it made me feel safe."
He turns back to Lucy.
"I watched you grow up, and every time you wanted something different than what I'd planned, I pushed harder." His eyes fill again. "I convinced myself it was because I knew what was best."
He looks down at his hands.
"I didn't."
The room stays quiet.
"I kept trying to make your life fit inside the picture I'd built in my head." His voice cracks. "I wanted you to marry the right man. Stay close to home. Live the life I thought was respectable."
He looks at me.
