“Adam knew it wasn’t safe,” Vance said quietly. Liam nodded. “He did,” he said. “But he thought he could handle it. He thought it was just another small job. I let him believe that because it made me feel less alone. I probably told myself that it was okay too.”
The confession sat between them, heavy and ugly. Rain softened outside the station. Vance felt something inside him bend, not break. The story he had told himself—that he had single-handedly ruined his son—shifted into something harder and truer.