Your stepmother left us

With a loud creak, the door to Dr. West's office swung open, breaking the sterile silence and foreshadowing the pain to come. William Jackson stumbled inside, his eyes swollen and filled with sorrow.

"William, what's wrong?" Dr. West's voice was sharp, cutting through the heavy air.

William's knees hit the floor with a dull thud, his hands trembling as he clutched at the doctor's pant leg. "I failed your sister, Wyatt," he gasped, words strangled by sobs.

Dr. West's brow furrowed, a hand reaching down to pry William's grip loose. "Get up; my sister died 25 years ago. You're mourning a ghost."

But William's wails sliced the room. "No, I won't rise until you forgive me. Your sister... Cathleen... Goddamn it, what kind of father lets this happen?"

"Tell me everything," Dr. West commanded, pulling William to the couch with firm hands. The leather groaned under the weight of William's collapse.

"Dora confessed..." William's voice broke, "to killing my wife."

Dr. West stood abruptly, the ch