Chapter 2 - The Letter from the DeadEthan locked himself inside his study.
Sophie sat on the sofa outside with the housekeeper, Mrs. Dalton, who had been with the Mercer family since before Sophie was born.
The wedding had been canceled.
No one knew why.
Guests had left whispering.
The flowers remained.
The champagne remained.
Only the groom was gone.
Ethan sat behind his desk with Claire’s note in front of him.
He had read it twenty times.
He still couldn't understand how it was possible.
He had watched Claire die.
He had identified her body.
He had buried her.
Five years.
Five years of grief.
Five years of believing he knew every secret his wife had ever kept.
Yet the handwriting in front of him was hers.
There was no doubt.
He turned the hidden panel over.
Inside the music box, beneath the compartment where the letter had been hidden, were three tiny letters carved into the metal.
V.A.L.
Vale.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
Natalie Vale.
He opened the letter again.
This time, there was more.
The first sheet had been folded behind the note.
His eyes moved across the page.
Ethan,
If you are reading this, then someone has found the box.
I prayed you would never have to.
There are things I never told you because knowing them would have put you and Sophie in danger.
The Vale family is not what you think.
Five years ago, when I discovered the truth, they realized I knew too much.
I managed to hide evidence.
I put part of it inside Sophie’s music box.
Never let anyone from the Vale family near our daughter.
Especially Natalie.
She will tell you I was unstable.
She will tell you I was paranoid.
She will show you documents proving everything I said was nonsense.
Do not believe her.
Trust the box.
Trust Sophie.
And if Natalie ever asks you about the blue key...
Run.
Ethan's hands went numb.
A knock came at the door.
“Nobody comes in.”
Silence.
Then Natalie spoke.
“Ethan.”
He stood.
“You need to leave.”
The door opened.
Natalie stepped inside.
Her wedding dress was still perfect.
Not a wrinkle.
Not a tear.
Only her expression had changed.
“You read it.”
Ethan stared at her.
“How did you know?”
Natalie swallowed.
“I didn't.”
“You knew there was a letter.”
“No.”
“You knew what was inside that music box.”
She said nothing.
Ethan walked toward her.
“My wife wrote that letter five years ago.”
Natalie’s face went pale.
“She was sick.”
“Don't.”
“She had episodes.”
“Don't you dare.”
“She was convinced people were following her.”
Ethan slammed the letter onto the desk.
“She warned me about you.”
Natalie looked at the page.
Then something astonishing happened.
She smiled.
Not because she was amused.
Because she had finally stopped pretending.
“You have no idea what Claire did.”
“Tell me.”
“She stole something.”
“What?”
Natalie stepped backward.
“A truth that was never hers to possess.”
Ethan stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Natalie reached for the door.
Before leaving, she turned.
“You think Claire died because of an accident.”
Ethan froze.
Natalie whispered:
“She didn't.”
The door closed.
Ethan stood motionless.
Then Sophie appeared in the doorway.
“Daddy?”
He turned.
“What happened?”
Sophie held out her hand.
Something tiny rested in her palm.
A blue metal key.
“I found this inside Mommy’s box.”
Ethan stared at it.
The same key Claire had warned him about.
And suddenly the wedding was no longer the strangest thing that had happened that morning.
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The strangest thing was this:
Natalie had already known the key existed.
