Chapter 5: The Letter From The Dead
The envelope felt heavier than it should have.
It was only paper.
A few sheets folded together.
Yet my hands trembled as if I were holding something alive.
Because the name written on the front belonged to someone who had been gone for fifteen years.
My mother.
Evelyn Hartwell.
The woman who used to sing while cooking breakfast.
The woman who tucked blankets around Tobias and me whenever storms shook the windows.
The woman whose funeral I attended while wearing a black dress that was too big for me because I had lost so much weight from grief.
The woman everyone told me I had lost forever.
I looked at Tobias.
"Tell me this isn't real.""
He didn't answer.
That frightened me more than anything.
"Tobias.""
His eyes remained fixed on the envelope.
"I thought it was impossible.""
My fingers tightened.
"You thought?""
He swallowed.
"Rosalind, I never knew if she survived.""
The anger came instantly.
"How could you know she survived and not tell me?""
"I didn't know.""
"But you suspected.""
His silence was enough.
I stepped away from him.
For years, I had defended Tobias.
I had told people not to treat him differently.
I had sat beside him during every therapy session.
I had fought insurance companies.
I had helped him rebuild his life.
And all those years, he had been hiding pieces of my own life from me.
"Open it," he whispered.
I looked at him.
"What?""
"Open the letter.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You don't get to tell me what to do with my mother's words.""
He nodded.
"You're right.""
The warehouse was cold.
The kind of cold that entered your bones.
I stared at the envelope for another moment.
Then I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
The paper was old.
Yellowed.
But the handwriting was unmistakable.
I knew every curve.
Every line.
My mother's handwriting.
My eyes moved across the page.
*My dearest Rosalind,*
I stopped breathing.
The world became silent.
*If you are reading this, then the truth has finally found you.*
My vision blurred.
*I am sorry. I am sorry for every birthday I missed. Every morning I wasn't there. Every night you wondered why I left you.*
My hand covered my mouth.
Tears fell onto the paper.
*But I need you to understand one thing. I never abandoned you.*
I looked at Tobias.
He was crying too.
The first time I had seen him cry in years.
I continued.
*Your father and I discovered something dangerous. Someone inside our family was destroying everything we built. We thought we could stop him. We were wrong.*
My fingers shook.
*Adrian Cross was not acting alone.*
I stopped.
Not alone.
The words repeated in my mind.
*There was someone else. Someone closer. Someone we trusted.*
My heart pounded.
I looked at Tobias.
He whispered:
"Keep reading.""
I did.
*The night of the accident, I knew we were being followed. Your father told me to run if anything happened. He told me to protect our children at all costs.*
My breathing became uneven.
*I survived the crash. But I could not return.*
A tear dropped onto the page.
*Because the people who caused it were still watching you.*
I stopped reading.
The warehouse suddenly felt unsafe.
Like someone was standing behind us.
Like someone had been listening.
"Why didn't she come back?""
My voice was barely a whisper.
Tobias looked down.
"Because she thought they would kill you.""
I turned toward him.
"Who?""
He didn't answer.
The letter continued.
*Rosalind, the man you married is not who he says he is.*
My heart froze.
Garrett.
*He carries the same ambition as the people who destroyed our family. He believes love is a weakness. He believes everything has a price.*
My hands tightened.
*But there is one person you must be careful with.*
The next line made me stop.
Because the handwriting became darker.
As if my mother had pressed harder with the pen.
*Do not trust Tobias completely.*
The air left my lungs.
I looked at my brother.
He looked as shocked as I was.
"What?""
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
Do not trust Tobias completely.
My brother stepped forward.
"Rosalind, listen to me.""
I moved away.
"You knew about this letter?""
"No.""
"You knew she survived.""
"No.""
"You knew something.""
His face fell.
"Yes.""
The answer hurt.
"How long?""
He looked at the floor.
"Two years.""
I felt betrayed all over again.
"Two years?""
"I found evidence she might still be alive.""
"And you said nothing?""
"I was trying to find her.""
"Alone?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
His voice broke.
"Because every person I trusted was connected to Adrian.""
I stared at him.
"You included me?""
"No.""
The answer came immediately.
"Never you.""
"Then why hide everything?""
He had no response.
That was becoming a pattern.
Before I could say anything else, we heard a noise.
A car outside.
Tobias immediately moved toward the window.
"Someone followed us.""
I folded the letter quickly.
"Who?""
"I don't know.""
He looked around.
"Take the back exit.""
I didn't move.
"No.""
He looked at me.
"Rosalind—"
"No more secrets.""
A strange calm came over me.
For fifteen years, everyone had decided what I could handle.
My parents.
My brother.
My husband.
Everyone had protected me by lying to me.
I was done being protected.
"If we leave, we leave together.""
Tobias studied my face.
Then slowly nodded.
"You're more like Dad than you realize.""
The words hurt.
But I followed him.
We moved through the old warehouse corridors.
Dust covered everything.
Old shipyard equipment sat abandoned along the walls.
At the back door, Tobias stopped.
He looked outside.
Empty.
Too empty.
"Something's wrong.""
"What?""
"No guards.""
I frowned.
"Isn't that good?""
"No.""
He shook his head.
"Garrett never leaves anything to chance.""
The moment he said it, a voice came from behind us.
"You're finally learning.""
We turned.
Garrett stood at the end of the hallway.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him was Penelope.
Her hand rested on her pregnant stomach.
I stared at her.
The woman who pretended to love me.
The woman who watched me sink into the river.
"Why?"" I asked.
My voice broke.
"Why did you do this?""
Penelope looked at me.
And for a moment, I saw guilt.
Then it disappeared.
"You were always the lucky one.""
I couldn't believe what I heard.
"Lucky?""
She laughed softly.
"You had everything.""
"I was your sister.""
"No.""
Her voice sharpened.
"You were the daughter they chose.""
The words hit differently.
"What are you talking about?""
Garrett stepped forward.
"Your father wasn't the only one with secrets.""
Tobias moved in front of me.
Garrett smiled.
"Still playing the hero.""
Penelope looked at the letter in my hand.
"Did you read it?""
I froze.
"How do you know about this?""
Her expression changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"Because I helped write it.""
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"What?""
Penelope looked at Garrett.
Then back at me.
"Your mother didn't write that letter alone.""
My heart pounded.
"Who helped her?""
Nobody answered.
Then a voice came from the entrance.
An older voice.
A voice I had only heard once on the phone.
Adrian Cross.
"You really thought your mother was the only person who survived that night?""
Everyone turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
Fifteen years missing.
Fifteen years hiding.
My uncle.
The man blamed for destroying my family.
He looked directly at me.
And smiled.
"Hello, Rosalind.""
Tobias stepped back.
Impossible.
Adrian looked at the letter in my hand.
Then said something that made my blood run cold.
"Before you hate me, you should ask your brother why your mother trusted me more than she trusted him.""
I turned toward Tobias.
May you like
And for the first time...
My brother looked afraid of the truth.
