Chapter 2 - THE ENVELOPE OF BETRAYAL
Ethan felt like he was drowning in the middle of a crowded room.
"Dad, what are you talking about?" Ethan demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low octave.
"She took the money, Dad, she signed the non-disclosure agreement and walked away from me."
Richard slowly stood up, placing a protective hand on Noah’s small shoulder before turning his furious gaze to his son.
"Did she?" Richard asked, reaching into the inner pocket of his tailored cashmere coat.
He pulled out a thick, battered envelope tied with a faded piece of string and threw it onto the table.
It landed right next to Ethan’s black card with a heavy, dismissive thud.
"Open it," Richard commanded, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument.
Ethan hesitated, his eyes darting between the battered envelope and his father's furious expression.
"Ethan, don't," Victoria interrupted, her voice high and desperate as she tried to grab his arm.
"This is a trick, she probably forged whatever is in there to extort you."
Ethan shook her hand off violently, his eyes locked on the familiar handwriting on the top envelope.
He reached out with shaking fingers, untied the string, and let a stack of eleven letters spill onto the pristine tablecloth.
The postmarks were all dated seven years ago, from the exact weeks after Hannah had vanished.
He picked up the first letter, unfolding the fragile paper, and his breath hitched painfully in his throat.
It was a desperate, heartbreaking plea for him to call her back, explaining that her apartment had been robbed.
He picked up another, his hands now trembling so violently that he could barely read the ink.
An ultrasound photo of a tiny baby fluttered out from between the pages and landed face-up on his plate.
"She wrote to you eleven times, Ethan," Richard said quietly, the anger in his voice giving way to deep sorrow.
"She begged you for help when she was starving, pregnant, and terrified."
Ethan looked up, his eyes wide and glassy with tears he could no longer hold back.
"I never got these," Ethan whispered, his voice breaking as he stared at the ultrasound of his unborn son.
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"I know you didn't," Richard replied, turning a lethal glare toward Victoria.
"Because your lovely fiancée intercepted the mail and paid off my head of security to block Hannah’s phone number."
