Chapter 5 - THE TRUTH INSIDE THE OLD LETTER

Three hours passed.

Three hours of silence.

Three hours of watching a red light above an operating room door.

Matthew Sullivan had survived hostile takeovers.

He had survived lawsuits.

He had survived losing billions of dollars overnight.

But nothing had ever made him feel as helpless as sitting beside a five-year-old girl waiting for her mother to wake up.

Sarah sat beside him.

Her cardboard box rested on her lap.

She carefully arranged the dolls inside.

Over and over.

Like fixing them could somehow fix her world.

“Is Mommy going to be mad at me?”

Matthew looked at her.

“Why would she be mad?”

“Because I tried to pay with her dolls.”

Her voice became smaller.

“She told me never to give Luna away.”

Matthew looked at the rag doll.

“Why?”

“Because she made her for me.”

Sarah touched the stitches.

“She said when she couldn’t buy me something, she made something instead.”

Matthew looked down.

That was the kind of person Anne was.

She didn’t have much.

But she always gave everything.

A nurse walked by.

Then stopped.

“Mr. Sullivan?”

“Yes?”

“I found something else in Mrs. Miller’s belongings.”

She handed him a small envelope.

“This was hidden inside her jacket.”

Matthew stared at it.

“Another letter?”

The nurse nodded.

“This one was addressed to you.”

His heart stopped.

Slowly, he opened it.

Matthew,

If you are reading this, then something happened and I couldn’t tell you myself.

First, I need you to know one thing.

I never left because I stopped loving you.

I left because I loved you too much.

Matthew’s vision blurred.

He kept reading.

Your father found out about Sarah.

He gave me a choice.

Disappear forever…

or watch the people I loved lose everything.

I thought he was bluffing.

I was wrong.

The first time I refused, someone followed me home.

The second time, someone broke into our apartment.

The third time, they came for Sarah.

Matthew stopped reading.

His hands shook.

Sarah noticed.

“Are you okay?”

He quickly folded the letter.

“Yes.”

But he wasn’t.

Not even close.

He continued.

I knew I couldn’t keep fighting them alone.

So I disappeared.

I changed cities.

I changed my name.

I worked three jobs.

I did whatever I had to do to keep our daughter safe.

But I always hoped one day you would find us.

Because Sarah deserves to know her father.

Matthew closed his eyes.

A tear fell.

The first tear anyone had seen from him in years.

The billionaire who never showed weakness.

Was sitting in a hospital chair crying over a little girl who had offered him a box of dolls.

“Mr. Sullivan?”

Richard’s voice interrupted him.

Matthew looked up.

“You knew.”

Richard didn’t deny it.

“Yes.”

“You knew she was alive.”

“Yes.”

“You knew about Sarah.”

“Yes.”

Matthew stood.

Anger replaced the sadness.

“You let me believe she abandoned me.”

Richard looked down.

“I was trying to protect her.”

“By letting me hate her?”

“By keeping you alive.”

The words stopped Matthew.

“What?”

Richard took a deep breath.

“Matthew, your father didn’t just threaten Anne.”

A pause.

“He threatened you.”

Before Matthew could respond, the surgery doors opened.

Dr. Kline walked out.

Everyone stood.

Sarah ran forward.

“How’s my mommy?”

The doctor looked at the little girl.

Then at Matthew.

His face was serious.

“She made it through surgery.”

Sarah smiled.

A beautiful, broken smile.

“But…”

The smile disappeared.

“There’s something you need to know.”

Matthew stepped forward.

“What?”

Dr. Kline lowered his voice.

“Someone changed her medical records before she arrived.”

Matthew’s eyes narrowed.

“What does that mean?”

“It means this accident…”

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The doctor paused.

“May not have been an accident.”