Chapter 3 — The Truth Behind the Missing Letters
The soldier knelt carefully in front of the little girl.
His hands shook harder than they ever had under enemy fire.
"Hello," he whispered.
Lily studied his face with quiet curiosity.
Then she smiled.
A tiny dimple appeared on her left cheek.
The same dimple his mother had carried her entire life.
His breath caught.
There was no denying it.
She was his daughter.
His wife quietly covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Daniel waited until the moment settled before speaking again.
"There is something else you need to know."
He handed over another file.
This one contained dozens of photocopied envelopes.
Every letter the soldier had ever mailed.
Every letter his wife had ever written back.
None had reached their destination.
Someone had intercepted every single one.
The soldier frowned.
"Who?"
Daniel slid one final document across the table.
The signature at the bottom made the room go cold.
Colonel Richard Hayes.
The commanding officer responsible for his deployment.
"He was later arrested during an internal military corruption investigation," Daniel explained.
"He diverted relief funds, forged casualty reports, and covered his tracks by declaring several soldiers dead."
"You were one of them."
The soldier closed his eyes.
Two years.
Two stolen years.
Not because his wife had abandoned him.
Because someone had stolen their lives.
He looked at his wife.
"I'm sorry."
She shook her head.
"No."
"We were both victims."
Slowly, she reached for his hand.
May you like
For the first time since he had walked through the front door...
He didn't pull away.
