Chapter 6 - THE LETTER THAT BROKE HIS HEART
Graham drove straight to Maisie’s school.
He didn’t remember the traffic lights.
He didn’t remember the people walking past him.
All he could think about was one sentence.
“She wrote that she was sorry for being difficult.”
A five-year-old child should write about cartoons.
About birthday cakes.
About the toys she wanted.
Not about apologizing for existing.
When Graham entered the classroom, Maisie’s teacher, Mrs. Carter, immediately walked toward him.
“Mr. Grant.”
“Where is the letter?”
She looked uncomfortable.
“It’s in my office.”
“Show me.”
Inside the small office, the letter was sitting inside a clear folder.
Graham picked it up carefully.
The handwriting was messy.
Small.
Like a child who was trying hard not to cry.
Daddy,
I’m sorry I make things hard.
I will be good.
I won’t cry anymore.
Maybe if I go somewhere else, you can be happy.
Graham stopped reading.
His vision blurred.
He had faced angry businessmen.
Broken contracts.
Lawsuits.
People trying to destroy his company.
Nothing prepared him for this.
Because those people never called him “Daddy.”
Mrs. Carter watched him quietly.
“I need to tell you something.”
Graham looked up.
“What?”
“Maisie has been different for months.”
His stomach tightened.
“Different how?”
“She became afraid of making mistakes.”
“That’s not like her.”
“I know.”
The teacher lowered her voice.
“She used to draw pictures of your family every week.”
Graham looked at the letter.
“And now?”
“She stopped drawing herself.”
That sentence hurt more than anything.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Mrs. Carter hesitated.
“She always said you were busy.”
Graham closed his eyes.
Busy.
That word followed him everywhere.
Building his company.
Managing employees.
Creating a better future.
But somewhere along the way…
He forgot that his daughter needed him in the present.
Not someday.
Not after everything was finished.
Now.
“Did Sloane come here?”
The teacher nodded.
“Several times.”
“What did she say?”
“She said Maisie had emotional problems.”
Graham’s jaw tightened.
“Did you believe her?”
Mrs. Carter looked down.
“At first.”
“Why?”
“Because she was convincing.”
That was the most terrifying answer.
Sloane wasn’t acting like a villain.
She acted like someone trying to help.
That was why nobody noticed.
Graham left the school with the letter in his hand.
When he returned home, Maisie was sitting on the couch.
She looked up.
“Are you mad?”
Graham froze.
“Mad?”
“I wrote the letter.”
He sat beside her.
“No.”
“But you look sad.”
Graham swallowed.
“I’m sad because you thought you had to leave me.”
Maisie looked down.
“I thought you wanted me to.”
His heart broke.
“Who told you that?”
She didn’t answer.
“Maisie.”
A long silence.
Then she whispered:
“Sloane said when you married her, you would finally have a normal family.”
Graham felt anger rise.
“Sweetheart…”
“She said I was the reason you were always tired.”
He looked away for a moment.
Because he needed to control himself.
A child should never carry that kind of guilt.
He hugged her.
“You are not the reason I’m tired.”
“Then why?”
“Because I’m your dad.”
Maisie cried against his chest.
And Graham made a promise.
A promise he knew would change everything.
“I’m going to find out everything.”
That night, Daniel sent him a message.
A single photo.
A document.
With one sentence:
“You need to see who really signed the agreement.”
Graham opened the file.
May you like
And his blood ran cold.
The signature wasn’t his.
