CHAPTER 3: THE LETTER IN THE STORM
The words hung in the air.
"Don't open that letter alone."
A crack of thunder shook the mansion.
Little Lily stood frozen at the top of the staircase, her tiny finger still pointing at the envelope in Nathaniel's hand.
Maria rushed to her granddaughter.
"Lily, sweetheart, come here."
But the child didn't move.
Her wide eyes remained fixed on the letter.
"She says he's watching," Lily whispered.
Nathaniel's stomach tightened.
"Who's watching?"
The little girl slowly turned toward the grand living room.
Then she pointed toward the dark windows.
"That man."
Everyone looked outside.
Nothing.
Only rain.
The black iron gates.
The empty driveway.
Yet for some reason, a chill ran through Nathaniel's body.
Claire suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Lock the doors."
"What?"
"Lock them. Now!"
Her voice trembled.
Nathaniel had never seen Sarah's best friend look so frightened.
He nodded to the security guard.
"Seal the house."
The guard immediately pressed the alarm panel.
Heavy locks clicked into place.
The mansion was secure.
Or so they thought.
Nathaniel looked at the envelope again.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Sarah's.
His fingers trembled.
Three years.
For three years, these words had been waiting for him.
"What does it say?" Maria whispered.
"I don't know."
"Then open it."
But Claire stepped forward.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Her face had turned pale.
"I promised Sarah I would stay when you read it."
"Why?"
"Because she was afraid of what would happen after."
The room fell silent.
Nathaniel slowly broke the seal.
Inside was a single folded letter.
And a small silver key.
The sight of the key made Claire inhale sharply.
"Oh, my God…"
"You know this key?"
She nodded.
"It's for Sarah's safety deposit box."
Nathaniel frowned.
"What safety deposit box?"
Claire looked stunned.
"She never told you?"
"Told me what?"
The woman swallowed.
"Three weeks before she died, Sarah rented a private box at the bank."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She wouldn't say."
Nathaniel unfolded the letter.
His hands shook so badly he could barely read.
Then he saw the first line.
And his world stopped.
My dearest Nathaniel,
If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened to me.
And if that terrible thing happened… it was not an accident.
The room seemed to spin.
Maria covered her mouth.
Claire started crying.
Nathaniel kept reading.
Someone close to us has been lying.
I discovered something I was never supposed to know.
I wanted to tell you, but I became afraid.
If I disappear, do not trust anyone until you find what's inside the box.
And Nathaniel…
Please forgive me for keeping this secret.
I was trying to protect our daughter.
He stopped.
The room became deathly quiet.
Protect our daughter.
Not our baby.
Not the baby.
Our daughter.
Present tense.
Nathaniel looked up.
"What does this mean?"
No one answered.
He looked at Claire.
"What does this mean?!"
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I didn't know if she should tell you."
"Tell me what?"
Claire's hands shook.
"Sarah believed…"
"Believed what?"
"That your baby survived."
The letter slipped from Nathaniel's hand.
"No."
Claire nodded, crying harder.
"She thought the doctors lied."
"No."
"She told me she kept having nightmares."
"No!"
"She said she felt in her heart that her daughter was alive."
"STOP!"
His voice echoed through the mansion.
The idea was impossible.
Cruel.
The doctors had told him both of them died.
He had buried them.
He had stood over two graves.
He had mourned them for three years.
Claire stepped closer.
"Nathaniel…"
He backed away.
"No. No, this is insane."
"She was investigating before she died."
"Investigating what?"
"Who took the baby."
Silence.
Then—
A loud crash shattered the living room window.
Glass exploded everywhere.
Maria screamed.
Lily cried out.
The security guard reached for his radio.
A black stone rolled across the floor.
Attached to it was a note.
Nathaniel picked it up.
The message contained only six words.
STOP DIGGING OR SHE DIES TOO.
Everyone froze.
"She?" Maria whispered.
Nathaniel's blood ran cold.
She.
Not they.
Not them.
She.
A little girl.
A daughter.
His daughter.
The front gate alarm suddenly began blaring.
The security guard looked at his tablet.
His face turned white.
"Sir…"
"What?"
"There's a vehicle outside."
"Who is it?"
The guard swallowed hard.
"It's… impossible."
"What?"
He turned the screen toward Nathaniel.
A black SUV sat outside the gates.
And standing beside it…
was a woman.
Blonde hair.
Long coat.
One hand resting on the gate.
Nathaniel's breathing stopped.
Because she looked exactly like Sarah.
Maria gasped.
Claire nearly collapsed.
"No…" she whispered.
The woman slowly raised her head.
Then she smiled.
Not a kind smile.
A chilling one.
And she lifted a little girl's pink backpack.
The same backpack Lily had been carrying earlier that evening.
Nathaniel looked toward the staircase.
Lily's hands were suddenly empty.
Her backpack was gone.
The woman outside opened her mouth and said something.
The security camera had no sound.
But Nathaniel could read her lips.
Three terrifying words.
I found her.
At that exact moment, every light in the mansion went out.
Darkness swallowed the house.
May you like
And somewhere upstairs…
a child screamed.
