Alive. About to marry my best friend.My daughter whispered, “Daddy, why are you crying?” as Natalie saw us and bolted from the altar. I followed her, demanding answers. She admitted her father staged everything — the fake death, the legal erasure — just so she could start fresh.

Stefan was devastated. The wedding was called off. And as painful as the truth was, it gave me something I didn’t realize I still needed: closure.Natalie didn’t break me. She freed me. And in that moment, standing beside my daughter, I knew I had already built the life she thought I couldn’t.