Her eyes stopped on the cardboard carton, settled next to the single window in the room, and she crossed over to it.

Carefully, but with much haste, she lifted the lid. Dust poofed out at her, making her sneeze again. When the dust settled, her eyes took in the contents of the box.

Robin's mother had called this "Pandora's Box." "The day you open it, a world of secrets and troubles will tumble out," the woman had warned. "Don't be so quick to dig into your past. You may not like what you find."

Not like what she found? Her father's life-- everything he'd ever been-- was in that box. How could she not like what she found?

After several moments, Robin lifted the box and carried it down out of the attic. Finally, she thought. Finally, after all this time, I'm going to learn who my father really was.

The first thing Robin pulled from the box was a framed photograph of five smiling young men. One, the curly-haired blond in the middle, was a young version of her father. He couldn't have been more than eighteen years old.

On a hunch, Robin removed the picture from the frame and turned it over. "*N Sync jumps to Jive Records-- September 9, 1999. (L-R)Lance, Chris, Justin, JC, Joey," was scribbled on the back in her mother's handwriting.

The names and faces became familiar. These young men had all spent a fair amount of time at the Timberlake home when Robin was young. She vividly remembered JC pushing her on a swing, having tea parties with Joey, and building sand castles on the beach with Lance and Chris. But where had her father been in all of it? Why didn't she remember HIM?

She put the picture aside and dug deeper in the box. The next item she pulled from it was a family picture, taken in the hospital the day she was born. She had seen this picture before, but something was slightly different about the copy she now held in her hand. But what?

Then she knew.

In the family photo album, her mother kept an exact duplicate of this photo. But in that version, her father was missing. In the picture in her hands, he stood beside her mother, a bright smile on his young face. For some reason, her mother had cut him out of the other picture... but she had kept this one. More unanswered questions filled her mind.

Moving on, Robin lifted an old scrap book from the box. The pages were filled with old magazine pictures and news clippings about *N Sync. the oldest ones dated back as far as 1996, when her father had been just fifteen years old.

Robin saw her own features reflected in the images of her father and his friends. She had seen only a few photographs of Justin Randall Timberlake, and she had no real memories of him. And yet, the names, faces, and voices of his four friends were clear and memorable.

The mystery deepened.

The scrapbook outlined her father's successful singing career. She read a few of the articles, but mostly she looked at the pictures, watching him grow and mature before her eyes. It was eerie. Suddenly, the scrapbook came to an abrupt end. The last article was dated October 21, 2002-- just a week after Robin's birth. Against her better judgement, she read the article.

Her heart stopped. It was about her father's death.

"The call to 9-1-1 came in at 11:55 P.M., she read. "But when help arrived, it was already too late. Timberlake had been dead for at least an hour by the time his wife came home to discover the body. The suspected cause of death is--"

"Suicide?" Robin whispered. She dropped the scrapbook in shock.

"I told you you wouldn't like what you found."

Robin lifted her head to find her mother standing in the entrance to the family room. "Mom..."

Melinda Timberlake refused to give up any details as to why Robin's father had ended his own life. Desperate for answers, Robin went to the only other person who might have them: her godfather, JC Chasez.

"...And it said he-- that he committed suicide," Robin finished, leaning back against the couch in JC's den. "But why? People don't just do things like that, especially people who have successful lives doing something they love and have just had a baby... They have reasons."

JC took a slow sip of the Pepsi in his hand, then set the can down on the endtable next to him. With deliberate slowness, he leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands. Finally, he spoke. "And you came to me looking for answers."

"Please, JC. You're the only one I know who might have them."

"I do have them." JC shifted his position again, leaning forward. "But your mother wasn't kidding when she said you wouldn't like what you found. I'm not sure that you're ready to hear what I have to say."

The young girl looked at him with desperation in her eyes. "Please."

JC was silent for a long moment. He studied the girl in front of him. Her bright blue eyes and blond curls made her look like Justin's daughter, but in her face, JC saw someone else. "Alright."

And so he began his story... one that would, once spoken, change Robin's life forever.

"Your mother was a fan," he began. "Dear GOD was she a fan! You saw her scrapbook, so you know..."

Robin nodded.

"But back in 2000, she was also a dancer for our opening act. That's how she met Justin."

"My father."

JC cleared his throat and continued. "They fell in love. Lord, they were cute together." He smiled at the memories. "Then one day, Justin announced to us all that he and Melinda were engaged. The wedding took place in February of 2001. It was beautiful."

"I hate to be a pain in the ass, but how did all this fairytale romance hoopla turn out to be so bad?"

"I'm getting to that." JC sipped his soda. "Your mother wanted a baby real bad, so they started trying almost right away... with no success. By September, they were both thouroughly frustrated." Silence reigned. Now came the moment of truth. "Then one day--" He stopped. When he spoke again, his voice was much quieter. "One day, I came by. Your-- Justin was working long hours in the studio. He wasn't home much at all. Your mom needed a friend, someone to talk to, someone who understood, and I was that person. When she'd been on the road with us, she'd come to me with all her Justin troubles. It almost seemed as if nothing had changed."

Robin listened intently, a small frown creasing her brow. JC couldn't help thinking that when she did that, she looked just like...

"Well anyway, I started coming by more and more. Justin didn't-- he didn't know. We never told him. Our close friendship had always bothered him, even if he never said it out loud... we thought it best just to not tell him. Pretty soon I was at the house every day. We grew closer, your mom and I. Then one day..." JC swallowed a lump in his throat.

Robin frowned deeper, but her frown was one of confusion, not anger. At thirteen, her mind was still too innocent to catch the meaning of JC's words. He was going to have to spell it out for her. After all this time, he was going to have to admit it aloud.

"In January... it was just one time, and we knew it was wrong, but we... I... we slept together."

Robin went pale. Her mind whirled. Could it be that the man whose name she bore, the man who she assumed to be her father, was not her father at all?

"In March, your mom found out she was pregnant with you. She and Justin were so happy, and I... I stepped back and allowed Justin-- my best friend-- to enjoy his happiness. I couldn't spoil it, and niether could your mother."

Robin's shock turned into anger. Tears welled up in her eyes. "How COULD you?"

JC cast his eyes downward. "I can't answer that. I don't know how to." He swallowed hard and continued. "Then, sometime in... late September... a paternity suit was filed against Justin. It was no big deal. It had happened to us all from time to time-- young girls just trying to get a glimpse of us, trying to get some money out of us, whatever. He took it in stride, and went to have a DNA test to clear his name. The results came back just a few days after you were born, and Justin went in to see the doctor. That's when he found out... he found of that that baby couldn't be his. Something was wrong... he wasn't able to have children at all. He never would be able to."

"You mean I-- I'm--"

"It didn't take Justin long to put two and two together. He confronted Melinda, and it all came out. Two days later... he couldn't it anymore. His wife and his best friend in the whole world had betrayed him. As much as he wanted you to be his daughter, you weren't. And so he ended his own life." Robin barely heard the last part of his story. She was stuck back on what he said about Justin not being able to have children. "You mean you-- you're my... you're my..."

"I'm your father."

Silence reigned. Father and daughter stared at each other, each seeing the other in a new light. Part of Robin wanted to run forward and throw her arms around JC... the other part wanted to knock his lights out. As for JC, he just sat, watching this girl-- his daughter-- allowing the two sides to battle it out inside her.

Finally, with tears filling her eyes, she said, "I don't know what to think of you now."

"You're entitled to think whatever you want to think. What I did was wrong, and I'll never stop blaming myself for Justin's actions and his death. But for thirteen years, I've watched you grow up from afar, and I've been so proud. I always wondered what would happen if this moment ever came. I've always wondered if I'd ever get the chance to tell you... I love you. Reguardless of what you may think of me, I love you."

Robin took an unsteady breath. "As much as I want to hate you, I can't. You gave me life, and it's because of you that I'm here today. I've grown up without a father, and I always thought I'd missed the chance to get to know what having one was like. Now that I know the truth, I refuse to let this opprotunity slip away." She stood and crossed the room. JC got to his feet as well. "Will you tell me about my real father?"

JC smiled and embraced the teen, holding her tight, trying to make up for thirteen years' worth of fatherly hugs and goodnight kisses he never got to give. When he stepped back to look at her, he sniffled, wiped away a tear, and said, "Well that depends. Will you tell me about my daughter?"