Chapter 8: The Letter My Mother Left
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Not Daniel.
Not my father.
Not me.
The name stayed in the air.
My mother.
A person who had been gone for years.
A person who couldn’t defend herself.
A person I had spent years missing.
“You’re lying.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
Daniel looked at me.
“I’m not.””
“You said my mother contacted you.””
“Yes.””
“My mother died seven years ago.””
“I know.””
My entire body went cold.
“Then explain.””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
Not because he didn’t have an answer.
Because he had one.
And he knew I wouldn’t like it.
“Not directly.””
My father stepped forward.
“Enough games.””
Daniel looked at him.
“She left instructions.””
The silence returned.
My father’s expression changed.
“What instructions?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother created a legal document before she died.””
I stared.
“What kind of document?””
“She knew there would be problems with the trust.””
My father looked confused.
“She never told me.””
Daniel nodded.
“Because she didn’t trust anyone.””
The words hurt.
Even though they were about the past.
Even though they weren’t directed at me.
My mother.
The woman who always seemed fearless.
The woman who taught me never to let anyone define my worth.
She had hidden something.
“Where is it?”” I asked.
Daniel looked toward the entrance.
“I don’t have it.””
“Then who does?””
He didn’t answer.
My father stepped closer.
“Daniel.””
Daniel sighed.
“Thomas.””
My father closed his eyes.
Of course.
Thomas.
The person who had been hiding behind everything.
I looked at Daniel.
“How long have you known?””
He looked ashamed.
“Almost a year.””
A year.
I felt something inside me break again.
“You knew my mother left something important.””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
“I was trying to figure out how to handle it.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You were trying to figure out how to use it.””
He looked away.
That was confirmation enough.
My father took out his phone.
“I’m calling my attorney.””
Daniel immediately reacted.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
“No?””
Daniel’s face changed.
“I mean… maybe we should think before making this worse.””
My father stared.
“You’re worried about making it worse?””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Sarah, please.””
I looked at him.
“What do you want?””
His answer surprised me.
“I want you to understand.””
I waited.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.””
I almost believed him.
Almost.
Then I remembered the microphone.
The slap.
The smile.
The divorce papers.
“You don’t get to separate your intentions from your actions.””
He looked down.
And for once, he had nothing to say.
A security guard approached the ballroom doors.
“Mr. Bennett?””
My father turned.
“Yes?””
“There’s someone here asking for Sarah.””
Everyone looked at me.
“Who?””
The guard hesitated.
“She said she has something from your mother.””
My heart stopped.
My father stepped forward.
“Who is she?””
The guard looked at a small card in his hand.
“Her name is Olivia Grant.””
I froze.
I knew that name.
Everyone in my family knew that name.
Olivia was my mother’s closest friend.
The woman who disappeared after my mother’s funeral.
The woman nobody had heard from since.
“Bring her in,” my father said.
The doors opened.
A woman in her sixties walked slowly into the ballroom.
She looked at me.
And tears immediately filled her eyes.
“Sarah.””
I couldn’t move.
Because the last time I saw Olivia, she had been standing beside my mother’s coffin.
She walked toward me and held out an envelope.
“This belongs to you.””
My hands trembled as I took it.
There was handwriting on the front.
My mother’s handwriting.
*For Sarah. Open only when Daniel Mercer reveals his true intentions.*
I looked up.
Everyone was watching.
Daniel’s face had gone pale.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly what my mother had written.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single letter.
May you like
The first line made my breath stop.
*My dearest Sarah, if you are reading this, then the man you married has already betrayed you.*
