Chapter 8: The Letter From the Past
Nobody touched the letter.
It sat on the table like a bomb waiting to explode.
Daniel stared at his name written across the front.
His fingers moved toward it.
Then stopped.
“Who wrote this?””
Michael answered immediately.
“Sarah.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your sister?””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why does it say not to trust you?””
I had no answer.
Not yet.
Because I had never seen that letter.
Never.
Michael picked it up.
“I kept it because I promised Sarah I would only give it to Daniel when he was old enough.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.””
His eyes hardened.
“You think I wanted this?””
“I think you disappeared for twenty years and came back on my son’s wedding day with a folder full of accusations.””
Michael didn’t respond.
Because he knew I was right.
Daniel looked exhausted.
“Read it.””
Michael opened the letter.
The room became silent.
“Dear Daniel,” he began.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Hearing his name from a woman he never knew seemed to hurt him.
“I don’t know if you will ever read this. I don’t know if I will be there when you grow up.””
Michael paused.
His voice became quieter.
“But if you are reading this, it means the people who love you kept their promise.””
Daniel looked at me.
A tear appeared in his eye.
Michael continued.
“I need you to know one thing. The woman raising you loves you. Elizabeth is not your enemy.””
My head lifted.
Michael stopped.
Jessica frowned.
“What?””
Michael looked at me.
Then continued.
“Elizabeth is the only person I trust to protect you.””
The room froze.
Daniel looked at Jessica.
Then Michael.
Then me.
I whispered:
“Keep reading.””
Michael continued.
“My fear is not Elizabeth. My fear is the people who want what belongs to you.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“The inheritance?””
Michael nodded.
“Yes.””
The letter continued.
“Your birth father left something behind. Something people will hurt you to obtain.””
I felt my heartbeat increase.
Sarah knew.
She knew everything.
Daniel looked at me.
“What inheritance?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
Michael folded the letter.
“That’s the part she hid.””
“No,” I said.
Michael looked at me.
“You really don’t know?””
The confidence in his voice bothered me.
Because for the first time, he looked genuinely surprised.
Daniel noticed too.
“You thought she knew?””
Michael didn’t answer.
Jessica suddenly spoke.
“Maybe she’s pretending.””
Everyone looked at her.
She shrugged.
“I mean, isn’t that what she’s done her entire life?””
Daniel stared.
“You need to stop.””
Jessica’s face softened.
“I’m just saying—”
“No.””
His voice was firm.
“You don’t get to speak like you’re the victim anymore.””
For a second, Jessica looked like she might explode.
Then she smiled.
A controlled smile.
“I understand.””
But I knew that smile.
She was planning something.
Daniel looked back at the letter.
“Who is my birth father?””
Nobody answered.
Then Michael said:
“His name was Thomas Collins.””
Daniel frowned.
“Collins?””
I nodded slowly.
“Sarah’s last name.””
Michael looked at me.
“Thomas wasn’t just Sarah’s husband.””
He paused.
“He was one of the founders of Collins Medical Corporation.””
Daniel looked confused.
“What does that have to do with me?””
Michael stared at him.
“Everything.””
The room fell silent.
“The company was worth hundreds of millions.””
Daniel looked at the letter again.
“No.””
Michael nodded.
“Your birth father left his shares to his son.””
Jessica’s face changed.
Daniel noticed.
“Jessica.””
She looked at him.
“What?””
“You knew.””
She immediately shook her head.
“I knew there was money involved. That’s all.””
“No.””
His voice was colder.
“You knew exactly who I was.””
Jessica’s expression cracked.
“Daniel, I love you.””
“You didn’t even know me.””
The words destroyed her.
Because they were true.
Daniel turned away.
“I was just a name on a document.””
I watched Jessica’s eyes change.
The sadness disappeared.
The fear disappeared.
Something darker replaced it.
She looked at Michael.
And Michael looked back.
They were communicating without words.
That frightened me.
Because suddenly I realized.
The wedding.
The accusation.
The camera.
Everything had failed.
But they still had a reason to continue.
Jessica stepped toward the door.
“Fine.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Where are you going?””
She smiled sadly.
“I’m leaving.””
Nobody moved.
Then she stopped.
“And when you find out what your mother really did…”
She looked at me.
“You’ll come looking for me.””
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Don’t count on it.””
Jessica opened the door.
But before she left, she whispered:
“Ask her why Sarah died.””
The door closed.
And my son turned toward me.
Because he had never asked that question before.
But now he needed the answer.
“Mom…”
His voice was barely audible.
“How did Sarah die?””
I looked at the floor.
Because the truth was the one thing I had spent twenty years trying to forget.
Sarah didn’t die from an illness.
May you like
She died because someone wanted her silent.
And I knew exactly who that someone was.
