Chapter 6 - THE LETTER
At the hotel, the boys fell asleep together in one bed, their bandaged arms laid carefully over the covers. Emily sat in the chair beside them while Richard and Elaine spoke quietly at the small table.
Elaine knew about the letter.
Grace had written one for Richard before the birth and another for the boys. She had sealed both. Elaine had given Richard’s letter to him at the hospital after Grace died.
Richard pressed his fingers to his forehead. “I put it in her room.”
“You never read it?” Elaine asked.
“I couldn’t.”
The answer hung between them.
For five years, Richard had walked past that locked room. He had told himself he was saving Grace’s things for the boys. In truth, he had been afraid that one more reminder of her would bring him to his knees.
Victoria had found a way to use the silence he left behind.
The detective assigned to their case, Mara Ortiz, arrived shortly after midnight. She listened to Liam’s account with a child interview specialist on a video call, keeping the questions short and allowing Emily to sit nearby. Liam explained that Victoria had found him filming through the office door. He ran to the playroom, where his brothers were waiting. Victoria followed, took his tablet, and shut them inside.
“She said Dad would send us away if we told,” he whispered.
Richard sat across the room. He did not interrupt, though Emily saw how much effort it took.
Liam had hidden the flash drive in his pocket after copying the files from Victoria’s computer earlier that afternoon. He had learned how to do it from Priya, who once showed him how to save photos of his brothers.
Detective Ortiz requested the videos, the forged paperwork, and the security footage from the office lobby. She also made arrangements to document the playroom window and speak with the house staff.
“We have enough to investigate,” she said. “For tonight, keep the boys with you and don’t discuss the case with Victoria.”
Richard agreed.
After Ortiz left, he asked Elaine how Victoria could have known about Grace’s letter.
“She spent a lot of time in the house,” Elaine said. “Someone may have shown her where it was.”
Richard’s face tightened. “Or she opened the room.”
At six the next morning, his house manager called.
“The police are here,” she said. “We checked Mrs. Hawthorne’s room.”
May you like
Richard stood.
“The cabinet where you kept her letters is open,” the manager continued. “And the envelope is gone.”
