My stepfather demanded I pay for his daughter’s new house — but what he didn’t know was that my mother had been hiding a 19-year secret that would change everything.

Growing up, I watched my stepdad book plane tickets and beach resorts for his daughters while my brother and I stayed home, pretending we didn’t care.
We were part of the household, but never truly part of his plans. I convinced myself I had outgrown that chapter of my life—until the afternoon he called to ask me for $25,000 to help his daughter buy her first house.

My biological father left when I was seven. One day he was there; the next, he wasn’t. No long goodbye, no explanation that made sense to a child. My mom was suddenly alone with two kids—my older brother Nick, who was twelve, and me.