My mother’s handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
My heart began pounding.
I turned the photograph over.
There were only seven words.
“If she ever comes back, protect her.”
I looked up.
Rebecca was staring at me.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
The lawyer reached into the box.
There was a second item beneath the photograph.
An envelope.
My name was written across it.
I opened it with trembling hands.
Inside was a letter.
Richard’s handwriting.
I knew it instantly.
My eyes blurred before I even finished the first sentence.
My dear Elena,
If you’re reading this, then I’m gone.
I stopped.
I couldn’t continue.
The lawyer quietly said,
“Take your time.”
I forced myself to read.
You may believe I married you because I loved you.
I looked up.
Rebecca’s expression changed.
Then I continued.
And I did.
My chest tightened.
But there was another reason.
I read the next line twice.
I had known your family long before I ever met you.
I stopped breathing.
I looked at the lawyer.
“What?”
He said nothing.
I looked back at the letter.
Your mother worked for my family when she was young.
She knew my first wife.
And twenty years ago, she came to me asking for help.
