Chapter 5 - The Name Hidden In Nathan's Final Letter
The name on the envelope made my hands go cold.
I stared at it.
Then I looked at Samantha.
She didn't need to say anything.
Her face already told me everything.
"Who is it?" I whispered.
Samantha didn't answer.
Not immediately.
And that silence terrified me more than the name itself.
Because Samantha was never the kind of person who hesitated.
She was the woman who walked into my house and confronted my father without fear.
The woman who challenged fake documents.
The woman who carried out Nathan's final instructions.
But now...
She looked afraid.
"Elena," she finally said.
Her voice was quiet.
"You need to understand something before you open this."
I held the envelope tighter.
"What?"
"Nathan didn't write this because he wanted to hurt you."
I looked at the name again.
"Then why did he write it?"
Samantha looked toward the hospital door.
"Because he believed you were going to need the truth."
My heart was pounding.
"Just tell me."
She took a breath.
"The name on the back is..."
A knock interrupted her.
Both of us froze.
Not a nurse.
Not a doctor.
The knock was slow.
Careful.
Almost like whoever was outside didn't want to be noticed.
Samantha immediately stood.
"Stay here."
I watched her walk toward the door.
The handle moved.
The door opened slightly.
A familiar voice came from the hallway.
"Elena?"
My entire body went still.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it hundreds of times.
At family dinners.
During holidays.
During moments when I believed I was surrounded by people who loved me.
Samantha closed the door halfway.
"You shouldn't be here."
The person outside laughed softly.
"I came because I heard what happened."
My blood ran cold.
Because I recognized the voice.
It wasn't Richard.
It wasn't Bianca.
It was someone I trusted.
Someone Nathan trusted.
Someone who had been standing beside us during our happiest moments.
Samantha looked back at me.
Her eyes were full of warning.
"Elena, do not say anything."
I nodded slowly.
The door opened a little more.
And then the person stepped inside.
I felt like the air disappeared.
Because the person Nathan accused of betraying me was standing in front of me.
My husband's younger brother.
Daniel Moore.
I had known Daniel for almost seven years.
He was Nathan's little brother.
The person Nathan called when he needed help.
The person who stood beside Nathan at our wedding.
The person who helped us move into this house.
The person who hugged me after Nathan's funeral and told me:
"We're family. I won't let you go through this alone."
Now he was standing at the foot of my hospital bed.
And all I could think about was Nathan's letter.
The person who caused the danger will be the first person pretending to save you.
Daniel looked at me.
His expression was full of concern.
"Elena..."
I didn't answer.
His eyes moved toward the envelope in my hand.
And that was the moment I knew.
He knew.
Maybe not everything.
But he knew enough.
Samantha noticed too.
"Why are you here, Daniel?"
He looked at her.
"I came to check on her."
"At midnight?"
His face changed slightly.
"I was worried."
Samantha crossed her arms.
"How did you know she had the envelope?"
Daniel looked confused.
"What envelope?"
Too fast.
His reaction was too fast.
I watched him carefully.
Because grief had made me vulnerable.
But it had also made me notice things I ignored before.
The tiny pauses.
The nervous movements.
The way people avoided certain questions.
Daniel looked back at me.
"Elena, I know today has been horrible."
I said nothing.
"But I need you to understand something."
"What?"
His eyes became serious.
"Your father isn't the only person trying to take control of Nathan's estate."
My heart stopped.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel looked at Samantha.
Then back at me.
"There are people who knew about Nathan's protection plan before you did."
Samantha stepped closer.
"And you know who those people are?"
Daniel didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I looked at him.
"Daniel."
He swallowed.
"I didn't want you involved."
The words made my chest tighten.
"Didn't want me involved?"
I laughed quietly.
"My father threw me out of my house while I was pregnant."
Daniel looked away.
"And you knew something was happening?"
Silence.
That silence hurt.
Because it meant yes.
"How long?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Since before Nathan died."
I felt like someone had punched me.
Before Nathan died.
"You knew?"
"I knew Nathan was worried."
"Worried about what?"
Daniel looked at Samantha.
Then at me.
"About someone accessing his private files."
I stared.
"Who?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Again.
Always another secret.
Always another person deciding what I could handle.
I was tired.
I was exhausted.
My husband was gone.
My father betrayed me.
And now the people who claimed to protect me kept hiding the truth.
"Everyone keeps telling me they are protecting me."
My voice shook.
"But nobody tells me what I'm being protected from."
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
My heart dropped.
"What is that?"
He placed it on the table.
"Nathan gave this to me three days before the accident."
I looked at him.
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
His eyes filled with guilt.
"Because he told me not to."
Samantha immediately looked at him.
"What did he tell you?"
Daniel looked down.
"He said if anything happened to him, I had to wait."
"Wait for what?"
Daniel looked at me.
"For Richard to make his first move."
The room became silent.
My father's attack.
The fake documents.
The house.
The box.
Everything.
Nathan had predicted it.
But why?
Why would he know?
Daniel continued.
"He said Richard wouldn't come for the house first."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"He said the house was only a distraction."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Then what was the real target?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Samantha picked up the envelope he brought.
"Did you open it?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Nathan told me only Elena could read it."
My hands trembled.
Another letter.
Another secret.
Another piece of Nathan that appeared after he was gone.
I opened it slowly.
Inside was a single page.
Only a few sentences.
Elena,
If Daniel gives you this letter, it means he finally understood what I was trying to stop.
My breathing changed.
I looked at Daniel.
He looked away.
The letter continued.
The person who helped Richard is not working for money.
They are working because they believe they have something to lose.
My eyes moved faster.
There is one thing you need to find before they do.
The original copy.
I frowned.
Original copy of what?
Then I reached the final line.
And my hands froze.
Because Nathan had written:
"The truth about my accident is hidden where we first promised forever."
I looked up.
Samantha was staring at me.
"Where did you and Nathan promise forever?"
My lips parted.
I knew exactly.
The place where Nathan proposed.
The place we returned to every year.
The place nobody else knew mattered to us.
"The lake."
Daniel suddenly stood.
"No."
I looked at him.
"What?"
His face had lost all color.
"Elena..."
"What?"
He stepped closer.
"You cannot go there."
"Why?"
Daniel looked at Samantha.
Then back at me.
"Because someone already went."
A notification sound came from my phone.
All of us turned.
I picked it up.
A message from an unknown number.
One picture.
A photo taken moments ago.
My heart stopped.
It showed Nathan's lake house.
The front door was open.
And beneath the picture was one sentence:
"You're too late. We already found what Nathan buried."
Then another message arrived.
May you like
A name appeared on the screen.
The name of the person who sent it...
