Chapter 11 - THE LETTER FROM THE DEAD
I didn’t want to open the envelope.
That surprised me.
After everything I had learned, after everything I had lost…
I still hesitated.
Because a part of me was afraid.
Afraid of finding another truth I couldn’t handle.
Michael noticed.
“You don’t have to do this right now.”
I looked at him.
“Yes, I do.”
I took the envelope.
The handwriting was familiar.
My father’s handwriting.
The same handwriting that had written birthday cards.
The same handwriting that had signed permission slips when I was a child.
The same handwriting that had written:
I love you, Emma.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was one page.
Emma,
If this letter is in your hands, then the people I feared have finally moved.
I stopped breathing.
Your life may feel like it has fallen apart.
You may believe the people you loved betrayed you.
But remember this:
The truth does not destroy you.
The truth frees you.
I looked at Michael.
He was watching me carefully.
The letter continued.
Daniel was never the beginning.
He was only the doorway.
My stomach tightened.
I knew it.
Deep down, I knew it.
Your marriage was not an accident.
Someone chose him.
Someone placed him in your life.
I covered my mouth.
“No…”
Michael said nothing.
Because my father’s words were already enough.
I spent years trying to find who was behind this.
I found pieces.
But not the whole picture.
There is one person who knows everything.
One person who has been protecting the truth.
I turned the page.
The bottom of the letter had one sentence.
Find the person who remembers the night I died.
My heart stopped.
The night my father died.
Everyone said it was an accident.
A car crash.
A tragic mistake.
But now…
I wasn’t sure anymore.
I looked at Michael.
“My father was murdered?”
Michael’s silence answered before his words did.
“We never proved it.”
I felt dizzy.
“You knew?”
“We suspected.”
“And nobody told me?”
Michael looked down.
“Your father wanted you away from this.”
I wiped my tears.
“I was his daughter.”
“Yes.”
His voice became softer.
“And that’s why he wanted you safe.”
I looked back at the letter.
Find the person who remembers the night I died.
“Who remembers?”
Michael didn’t answer.
That frightened me.
“Michael.”
He sighed.
“There was one witness.”
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“Someone who disappeared after your father’s death.”
“Who?”
Michael finally said the name.
“Your mother’s sister.”
I froze.
“My aunt?”
“Yes.”
“But my aunt died years ago.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
My heart raced.
“What?”
“She didn’t die.”
I stared at him.
“Then where is she?”
Michael looked at the letter again.
“She’s been hiding.”
“From who?”
He looked at me.
“From the same people who are trying to destroy you.”
Before I could ask another question…
The lights went out.
The entire building went dark.
Michael immediately stood.
“Stay behind me.”
I heard footsteps outside the office.
Slow.
Calm.
Someone wasn’t trying to hide.
They wanted us to know they were there.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
A voice I recognized.
“Emma.”
My blood froze.
Because the person standing outside…
May you like
Was someone I thought I would never see again.
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