141 — MICHAEL O’NEIL (POV)

I always wondered if I would be able to do this... to be a father, to make things right, to compensate Angelee for all my absence. I’ve done my best all these years; I’ve cried to see her cry, and I’ve smiled at her happiness. I felt her pain like it was going through my chest, and I swear to God, if it were possible, I would feel each and every pain in her place. I would gladly trade it... I wouldn’t think twice and suffer in her place.

But my hands were always tied.

Powerless, guilty.

Because of my family, she suffered — her mother suffered, and I’m to blame for that. I didn’t know it, but that doesn’t clear my guilt... it’s something I’ll carry forever. And I don’t mind having it, I really don’t. That’s my martyrdom.

There’s no way I can lay my head on the pillow with a clear conscience, knowing that she’s probably crying silently in the bedroom. There’s no way I c