Chapter 2: The Letter Hidden Behind His Desk
Grant moved toward Tessa so quickly that Caleb stepped in front of him.
“Don't touch her,” my seventeen-year-old son warned.
Grant stopped.
“Give me that envelope.””
Tessa held it against her chest.
“Why?””
“Because it's private.””
“Then why does it have Mom's name on it?””
Grant looked at me.
His expression was no longer angry.
It was frightened.
Marjorie sat down heavily on the marble bench.
“Dana, where did you get that photograph?””
I ignored her.
I walked toward Tessa.
“Sweetheart, give it to me.””
She handed me the envelope.
It was yellow with age, its edges softened from being handled repeatedly. My name was written in handwriting I recognized immediately.
Not Grant's.
Daniel's.
My first husband.
Tessa's biological father.
The man Grant had spent nine years trying to erase.
I carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a folded letter and a photograph of a newborn baby wrapped in a pale blue blanket.
On the back, Daniel had written:
My little girl. The one thing I will never stop fighting for.
My knees nearly buckled.
I hadn't seen that photograph in eleven years.
I had believed it was lost.
Tessa leaned closer.
“Mom, who's Daniel?””
I swallowed.
“He was someone I loved very much.””
“Was he my dad?””
The room went silent.
Caleb looked at me.
Mason stopped moving.
Grant rubbed his forehead.
Marjorie suddenly stood.
“This conversation is over.””
“No,” I said.
She pointed toward the stairs.
“Take that child upstairs. She doesn't need to hear this.””
Tessa looked at her grandmother.
“Why do you always call me that child?””
Marjorie opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Tessa's voice became smaller.
“Am I really that bad?””
I dropped to my knees and took her hands.
“Oh, sweetheart. No.””
“Then why does Grandma hate me?””
I looked directly at Marjorie.
“Because she knows something about your father that she doesn't want you to discover.””
Grant slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!””
The sound made Tessa jump.
Mason immediately moved beside her.
“Stop shouting at her!””
Grant pointed toward the library.
“Both of you. Upstairs. Now.””
Caleb crossed his arms.
“We're not leaving Tessa alone.””
“I'm still your father.””
“And she's still our sister.””
That sentence seemed to strike Grant harder than anything else.
I stood and unfolded Daniel's letter.
The first line made my stomach twist.
Dana, if anything happens to me, please don't let them convince our daughter that she was unwanted.
I stopped reading.
The paper trembled between my fingers.
Daniel had written the letter three days before his death.
He had known something was wrong.
He had tried to warn me.
And someone had made sure I never received it.
I looked at Grant.
“Did you know about this letter?””
He didn't answer.
Marjorie suddenly grabbed the paper.
I pulled it away.
“Don't touch it.””
Her eyes flashed.
“You have no idea what you're doing.””
“Then explain it.””
She glanced at Grant.
He gave her a warning look.
That was when I realized something.
Marjorie wasn't simply afraid of the truth.
She was afraid of Grant saying something she didn't want revealed.
I continued reading.
There is something I need you to understand. My family will tell you that I abandoned you. They will say I was irresponsible. They may even claim I never wanted our baby.
My throat tightened.
None of it is true.
Tessa was watching me.
“Mom, please. Keep reading.””
I looked at my daughter.
Then continued.
My father has threatened to take the company away from me unless I agree to marry the woman he selected. I refused. I would rather lose everything than betray the woman I love.
Marjorie made a sharp sound.
“That's enough!””
I looked up.
“What company?””
Grant rubbed his face.
“Dana, Daniel was unstable. He had problems. You shouldn't believe everything he wrote.””
“Then why did you keep the letter?””
His mouth opened.
I stepped closer.
“Why did you keep a letter addressed to me in your private desk?””
He looked away.
Caleb took the letter from my hand.
“Let me read it.””
I hesitated.
He was old enough to understand.
So I let him.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he looked at Grant.
“Wait. Is Daniel the man in the photograph?””
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then Tessa's father is connected to your family?””
Marjorie stood abruptly.
“Stop asking questions!””
Mason stepped forward.
“Why? What are you afraid we'll find out?””
For a moment, Marjorie looked at him with pure hatred.
Then she turned to me.
“You came into this house knowing what Daniel had done. You knew the scandal he created.””
I stared at her.
“Daniel never created a scandal.””
“He ruined everything!””
Her voice cracked through the foyer.
And there it was.
Not grief.
Not shame.
Anger.
The kind of anger that had been buried for years.
Grant grabbed his mother's arm.
“Mom, that's enough.””
She pulled away.
“No! I'm tired of pretending. That girl should never have been brought into this family.””
Tessa began crying silently.
I pulled her against me.
Marjorie looked at us and delivered the words I would never forget.
“Her father destroyed this family before she was even born.””
I held Tessa tighter.
“No, Marjorie. Her father was the only person in this family who tried to protect her.””
Grant turned toward the front door.
“I'm leaving.””
I almost smiled.
“Of course you are.””
He stopped.
“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.””
“Then tell me.””
He stared at me.
“You should have taken the divorce settlement and walked away.””
I looked down at the papers.
“Is that what this is about? Money?””
He laughed bitterly.
“You think you can fight me? My family owns half this city.””
Caleb stepped beside me.
“Then I guess we'll find out how much the other half costs.””
Grant glared at him.
But before he could respond, his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
I saw his expression change.
He answered.
“What?””
A man's voice was faintly audible through the speaker.
Grant turned away.
“That's impossible.””
A pause.
Then:
“No. Nobody was supposed to find it.””
My heart began pounding.
Grant ended the call.
I stared at him.
“What did they find?””
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Nothing that concerns you.””
Then he walked out.
Marjorie followed him, but she stopped beside Tessa.
For one brief moment, she looked almost human.
Her eyes settled on the little girl's face.
Then she whispered:
“You should have been told years ago.””
Tessa wiped her cheeks.
“Told what?””
Marjorie looked toward the door.
“Your father didn't die the way your mother told you.””
The front door slammed.
I stood frozen.
Tessa slowly turned toward me.
“Mom?””
I couldn't speak.
Because there was only one thing I had never told my daughter.
I had never told her Daniel was dead.
May you like
I had told her he was gone.
And I had spent eleven years hoping she would never ask what that really meant.
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