Chapter 3 - THE LETTER FROM THE DEAD

I didn’t open the letter immediately.

That surprised everyone.

Even Prescott.

But I had learned something during my life.

The most dangerous moments were the ones where emotions tried to control you.

And right now, emotion was screaming at me.

Genevieve’s handwriting.

Her final words.

A possible answer to why she died.

I wanted to tear it open.

But I also wanted to prepare myself.

Because sometimes the truth hurt more than the lie.

“Everyone leaves.”

The guards looked at me.

“Sir?”

“Now.”

Within seconds, the room emptied.

Only Prescott, Clara, and I remained.

I looked at Clara.

“You said someone was watching you.”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because if I knew, I wouldn’t still be alive.”

Her answer was calm.

Too calm.

I opened the letter.

My hands were steady.

But inside, everything was falling apart.

The first line was enough to break me.

Lawson,

If you are reading this, then something happened to me.

I stopped breathing.

I continued.

I need you to listen carefully.

Do not trust everyone around you.

There are people close to us who are not who they appear to be.

I looked up.

Prescott saw my expression.

“What is it?”

I kept reading.

The next words made my heart race.

The children are not sick because of genetics.

Someone did this.

I stared at the sentence.

Impossible.

No.

I read it again.

Someone did this.

My grip tightened.

“Lawson?”

I ignored Prescott.

The letter continued.

I found evidence before I died.

Evidence that someone was trying to hurt our family.

I wanted to tell you.

But I was afraid.

Not for myself.

For Jonah and Blythe.

A cold feeling spread through my body.

I looked at Clara.

“What evidence?”

Her face changed.

“I don’t know.”

“You were there.”

“I only knew Genevieve was scared.”

“Scared of who?”

Clara looked down.

“She mentioned one name.”

The room became silent.

“Who?”

She hesitated.

Then whispered:

“Crosby Vane.”

My expression hardened.

Crosby.

My oldest enemy.

The man who had spent years trying to destroy my company.

The man whose men had recently been spotted near my property.

“That’s impossible.”

Clara looked at me.

“Why?”

“Because Genevieve trusted him.”

Her eyes lowered.

“That’s why it hurt her the most.”

That night, I sat beside my children’s beds.

I watched them sleep.

Jonah held Blythe’s hand.

Exactly like they had done since they were babies.

For the first time in years, I questioned everything.

Genevieve’s death.

The doctors.

The people around me.

The enemy I thought I knew.

A sound interrupted my thoughts.

A security alarm.

I stood immediately.

The mansion lights changed.

Red.

Emergency mode.

Prescott’s voice came through the speaker.

“Lawson.”

“What happened?”

“We found someone inside the east perimeter.”

My face hardened.

“Who?”

A pause.

Then:

“We don’t know.”

I looked at my children.

Someone had entered my fortress.

Someone had crossed my walls.

And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.

May you like

THE MAID’S DAUGHTER

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE,” HIS FIANCÉE TOLD THE MAID—THEN THE MAFIA BOSS LOOKED AT HER LITTLE GIRL“Get out of my house. And take that...

**MY HUSBAND CALLED ME A “BARREN LEECH”—HE DIDN’T KNOW MY MONEY WAS KEEP...

My husband threw his wedding ring at my feet and told security to remove the “barren leech” from the ballroom.He had no idea he wa...

MY DAUGHTER’S NOTE STOPPED MY WEDDING—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE

MY DAUGHTER SLIPPED ME A NOTE BEFORE “I DO”—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE’S PLANPART 1 — TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE VOWS“Daddy, if you marry he...

Maybe the threat had never been outside.

Maybe it had been inside all along.