CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET INSIDE THE HOUSE
Michael and Emily exchanged a startled look.
Then both rushed from the bedroom.
Margaret's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Michael! Hurry!"
The panic in her voice sounded real.
For a split second, Michael feared she had fallen.
He took the stairs two at a time.
Emily followed close behind.
When they reached the living room, they found Margaret standing beside a broken cabinet.
Several photo frames lay shattered across the floor.
Margaret pressed a hand against her chest.
"I was trying to clean and it collapsed."
Michael frowned.
Something felt off.
The cabinet wasn't damaged.
Only one section had opened.
Almost as if someone had been searching for something hidden inside.
His eyes drifted to the floor.
Among the broken glass was a small wooden box.
Margaret immediately stepped forward.
Too quickly.
"I'll take care of that."
Michael noticed.
And before she could reach it, he bent down first.
The older woman's face lost color.
Inside the box were dozens of envelopes.
Letters.
His letters.
The letters he had sent Emily during his deployment.
Confusion washed over him.
Why were they hidden in a box?
Why weren't they upstairs with Emily?
Michael picked one up.
It was unopened.
Then another.
Unopened.
And another.
Still sealed.
His stomach dropped.
Slowly he looked toward Emily.
She stared at the letters in shock.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
"What is that?"
she whispered.
Michael turned to his mother.
"Why are these here?"
Margaret remained silent.
For the first time in his life, she looked cornered.
"Mom."
His voice hardened.
"Answer me."
The older woman swallowed.
Then looked away.
"I didn't think she needed them."
The room went still.
Emily blinked.
"What?"
Margaret crossed her arms defensively.
"You were already emotional."
"You cried constantly."
"You worried him."
"So I kept some of the letters."
Some?
Michael looked inside the box again.
There were dozens.
Nearly an entire year's worth.
Emily sank into a chair.
Her hands trembled.
All those nights.
All those months.
She had believed Michael stopped writing.
Believed he no longer cared.
Believed he had forgotten her.
And every time she asked Margaret if another letter arrived, the answer had been the same.
"No."
Emily's voice cracked.
"He wrote to me?"
Michael stared at her.
"Every week."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Every single week?"
"Every week."
The realization shattered her.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The loneliness.
The confusion.
The growing distance.
All of it had been manufactured.
Margaret tried to speak.
"I was only trying to help."
"Help?"
Michael repeated.
His voice was dangerously calm.
"You hid my letters."
"I protected this family."
Emily shook her head.
"No."
For the first time all night, she spoke firmly.
"You controlled it."
Margaret froze.
Emily slowly stood.
Years of fear seemed to fade from her eyes.
Because the truth was finally visible.
Not only to her.
To Michael.
To everyone.
Then Michael noticed something else inside the box.
A sealed envelope.
Unlike the others, it wasn't addressed to Emily.
It was addressed to him.
Written in his father's handwriting.
Michael's heart skipped a beat.
His father had died three years earlier.
Slowly he opened the envelope.
The room became silent.
Inside was a letter.
A letter he had never seen before.
As he began reading, the color drained from his face.
Emily noticed immediately.
"Michael?"
His hands trembled.
Because the letter revealed a secret his father had taken to the grave.
And judging by Margaret's expression...
May you like
She had hidden this letter too.
For years.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3...
