PART 2 — THE LETTER SHE SPENT TWENTY YEARS RUNNING FROM
Nobody spoke.
The ballroom had gone completely silent.
Eleanor's hands trembled as she stared at the folded paper.
"Who... is your mother?"
The little girl looked down.
"My mommy said..."
"You'd ask that."
Slowly...
She held out the letter.
"You should read it."
Eleanor hesitated.
Her fingers shook so badly she almost dropped it.
She unfolded the yellowed paper.
The handwriting stole the air from her lungs.
She recognized it instantly.
Her daughter's.
The daughter everyone believed had abandoned the Whitcomb family.
The first line blurred behind her tears.
Mother... if this letter ever reaches you, it means I couldn't protect her anymore.
A gasp escaped Eleanor's lips.
"No..."
She whispered.
"No..."
Guests leaned closer.
Nobody dared interrupt.
She kept reading.
You chose the Whitcomb name over me.
I chose my daughter over yours.
We'll both live with those decisions.
The room remained frozen.
One elderly guest quietly removed his glasses.
"I remember her handwriting."
Another woman covered her mouth.
"It really is Charlotte."
Eleanor looked at the little girl.
"Where is your mother?"
The child's smile disappeared.
"She died."
The words landed like thunder.
"Last winter."
"She told me..."
"...to find you."
"...only if I had nowhere else to go."
Several guests quietly wiped away tears.
Eleanor could barely breathe.
"I searched for her."
The little girl gently shook her head.
"No."
"My mommy said..."
"You searched for forgiveness."
"Not for us."
Silence.
The words cut deeper than any accusation.
Just then...
A sharp voice echoed across the ballroom.
"That's enough."
Everyone turned.
A tall man in an expensive tuxedo pushed through the crowd.
Richard Whitcomb.
Eleanor's eldest son.
He glared at the little girl.
"She's lying."
He pointed at the lace.
"Anyone could fake that."
The little girl quietly reached into the pocket of her dress again.
"This isn't all my mommy left."
She placed a tiny silver baby bracelet in Eleanor's trembling hand.
Engraved inside...
Were six words.
Charlotte's Baby — Whitcomb Family.
Richard's face turned white.
Because he remembered exactly where that bracelet had disappeared.
May you like
The night his sister vanished.
END OF PART 2.
