PART 2
Part 2 – The Secret Liam Had Been Hiding
No one spoke.
The only sound was the water gently striking the side of the yacht.
Victor remained on one knee, breathing heavily.
Sarah never looked away from him.
"I asked you a question."
Victor forced a laugh.
"She's overreacting."
"I was just teasing the kid."
A few relatives nodded awkwardly.
"Yeah..."
"Victor's always rough."
"He didn't mean anything."
Sarah slowly turned toward her son.
"Liam."
Her voice softened instantly.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore."
"I'm right here."
The twelve-year-old looked at the faces around him.
His grandparents.
His aunts.
His uncles.
People who had watched everything...
And done nothing.
His hands trembled.
"I..."
Victor interrupted sharply.
"Don't start making things up."
Liam flinched.
Sarah immediately stepped in front of him again.
"Don't."
Victor fell silent.
Sarah gently squeezed Liam's shoulder.
"You promised me we'd always tell the truth."
Liam nodded.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"He..."
His voice cracked.
"He does this every time we have family parties."
The guests exchanged uneasy glances.
"What?"
Liam swallowed.
"He waits until no one's looking."
"Then he grabs me."
"He squeezes me so hard I can't breathe."
Victor shook his head.
"That's ridiculous."
Liam continued anyway.
"He whispers..."
"'If you tell anyone, they'll say you're weak.'"
Sarah closed her eyes for a brief second.
She had suspected something.
Now she knew.
Victor laughed nervously.
"He's just an emotional kid."
But before anyone could respond...
Another voice came from behind the crowd.
"He's telling the truth."
Everyone turned.
It was Emily.
Victor's sixteen-year-old daughter.
She had been standing near the cabin door the entire time.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were shaking.
She slowly walked toward Sarah and Liam.
Then looked directly at her father.
"You did the same thing to me."
Victor froze.
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"You called it joking."
"You said it would make me stronger."
"It didn't."
"It made me afraid of you."
The silence became unbearable.
One by one...
Family members lowered their eyes.
They suddenly remembered.
The crying.
The excuses.
The children avoiding Victor.
Things they had ignored because it was easier.
Sarah looked around the deck.
"No child should ever have to convince adults that they're scared."
No one argued.
Victor slowly stood.
His arrogance was gone.
But before he could speak...
Grandpa Robert, the oldest man in the family, stepped forward.
His voice was calm.
But carried more weight than anyone else's.
"Victor..."
"Come with me."
Victor frowned.
"Why?"
Robert looked him straight in the eyes.
"Because there's something your late mother asked me to give you..."
"...only if the day ever came when you finally had to face the truth."
Victor's face went completely white.
May you like
He whispered,
"What... did she leave behind?"
