Chapter 12 - The Letter
Clara stared at the photograph for what felt like hours.
Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold it.
"Ethan!" she screamed.
He came running from the study.
"What's wrong?"
She handed him the photograph.
He looked at it, and his face went pale.
"How did she get out?"
"I don't know."
"She was supposed to be in prison for life."
"I know."
"Ethan, what are we going to do?"
"We're going to protect our family. That's what we're going to do."
"How? She knows where we are."
"She knows where we live. That doesn't mean she can get to us."
"Ethan, she found us on the island. She found us in the cabin. She'll find us here."
"I know. But we're not going to run this time."
"We're not?"
"No. We're going to fight."
"Fight?"
"Yes. We're going to take the fight to her."
"Ethan, she's dangerous."
"I know. But we have resources too. We have money, we have connections, we have the law on our side."
"Ethan, she tried to kill me. She tried to kill our baby."
"I know. And I'm not going to let her succeed this time."
"What's the plan?"
"We're going to find her before she finds us."
---
Ethan made calls.
He called his lawyers.
He called the private investigators.
He called everyone he knew.
He was determined to find Veronica before she could act.
But the search was fruitless.
Veronica had vanished.
She was nowhere to be found.
---
A week passed.
Then two.
Then three.
There was no sign of Veronica.
Clara started to relax, started to think that maybe Veronica had gone into hiding.
But then, another letter arrived.
This time, it was addressed to Ethan.
He opened it, and inside was a single sentence:
"You can't protect them forever."
---
Ethan called security.
He increased the guards around the house.
He put tracking devices on Clara's car.
He did everything he could to protect his family.
But it wasn't enough.
Because Veronica was playing a long game.
She had been planning this for years.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
---
One night, Clara was alone in the house with Victor.
Ethan was at a business meeting.
She heard a noise outside the window.
She looked out, but there was nothing there.
She tried to relax.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
---
She called Ethan.
"I'm scared," she said.
"I'll be home soon."
"Ethan, I don't know if I can do this."
"Do what?"
"Live like this. Always looking over my shoulder. Always afraid."
"Clara, I know it's hard. But we'll get through this."
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"Promise?"
"I promise."
