Chapter 5 - The Letter From the Dead
The elevator stopped on our floor.
The lights flickered once.
Then everything went dark.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Adrian whispered:
"Everyone stay where you are."
I heard the sound of his footsteps.
Calm.
Controlled.
Like the darkness didn't scare him.
Like he had lived inside it before.
I stood frozen beside the desk, holding my breath.
The only light came from the city outside the glass windows.
Chicago was still shining.
Cars were still moving.
People were still living normal lives.
But inside that office, my entire world was falling apart.
A dead father.
A missing mother.
A fiancé who had lied about his identity.
And now someone had entered Adrian Moretti's private floor.
Chloe grabbed my arm.
"We need to leave."
I looked at her.
"How do you know?"
Her face was pale.
"Because people don't come here unless they want something."
Before I could answer, a sound came from the hallway.
A door opening.
Slowly.
Adrian appeared from the darkness.
His expression was different.
The calm confidence was gone.
Not completely.
But enough for me to notice.
"Security is checking the floor."
"Who is it?" I asked.
Adrian looked toward the hallway.
"We don't know."
That answer scared me.
Because Adrian Moretti always seemed to know everything.
If he didn't know...
Then whoever was outside was someone even he couldn't predict.
The man who came with Chloe moved closer.
"Adrian, we need to get Harper out."
Adrian nodded.
I grabbed the envelope from the desk.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"I am not running."
Adrian studied my face.
"Harper."
"No."
My voice became stronger.
"Every person in my life has been making decisions for me."
I held up the envelope.
"My father."
"My mother."
"Ethan."
"Even Chloe."
Chloe looked down.
"I know."
I looked at Adrian.
"I'm done being the last person to know the truth."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Adrian walked toward me.
And instead of taking the envelope...
He nodded.
"Open it."
My fingers trembled.
The envelope was old.
The paper had yellowed with time.
My name was written across the front.
Not typed.
Not printed.
Handwritten.
My father's handwriting.
I knew it immediately.
I had seen it hundreds of times.
Birthday cards.
School notes.
Little messages he left beside my breakfast.
My eyes burned.
Because holding that envelope felt like holding a piece of a person I had lost.
I opened it.
Inside was one sheet of paper.
Only one.
The first line destroyed me.
Harper,
If you are reading this, then I failed to protect you.
I stopped breathing.
Chloe covered her mouth.
Adrian stayed silent.
I continued reading.
My daughter,
There are things your mother and I hid from you.
Not because we didn't love you.
Because we loved you too much.
My hands shook.
The words blurred.
I wiped my eyes and forced myself to continue.
Your life was never supposed to be connected to this world.
You were supposed to grow up normal.
You were supposed to fall in love with someone who loved you.
You were supposed to forget everything that happened.
But someone found you.
Someone who should never have known where you were.
I looked up.
Adrian was watching me carefully.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
I looked back at the letter.
The next sentence made my heart stop.
The person closest to you is not the person you think.
My eyes moved toward Chloe.
She looked hurt.
"No."
She whispered.
"I know what that sounds like."
I kept reading.
Harper,
Do not trust anyone who tells you they are protecting you.
The people who say they are saving you may be the ones who put you in danger.
The only person who knows the full truth is the one who carries the mark.
I looked at the symbol on the envelope.
The circle.
The line.
My father's mark.
Then I saw something beneath the signature.
A final sentence.
Something he had added later.
Something written differently.
A warning.
He knows you survived.
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
I whispered.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Harper."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed at the bottom of the page.
"There's something else."
I looked down.
A small series of numbers had been written beneath the message.
Coordinates.
Not an address.
Not a phone number.
Coordinates.
"What is that?"
Adrian took the paper.
He studied the numbers.
Then his expression changed.
"You know this place."
I frowned.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"These coordinates lead to a property."
"What property?"
Adrian was silent.
Then:
"Your childhood home."
I felt cold.
"My childhood home was sold."
"According to public records."
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
"It means someone wanted everyone to believe it was sold."
I looked at Chloe.
She was crying silently.
"Harper..."
I turned.
"What?"
She hesitated.
Then said:
"I have been there."
My heart dropped.
"What?"
"Last year."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
She looked ashamed.
"Because Ethan asked me to go."
The room went silent.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Ethan sent you there?"
She nodded.
"He wanted something from the house."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
Her voice broke.
"He never told me what he was looking for."
I stepped closer.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because when I got there, I found something."
I froze.
"What?"
Chloe reached into her bag.
Slowly.
She pulled out a small object.
A key.
Old.
Metal.
With a strange symbol engraved on it.
The same symbol.
My father's symbol.
"I found this hidden inside the wall."
I stared.
"Why do you have it?"
Chloe looked at me.
"Because Ethan tried to take it from me."
The room became silent again.
Adrian took the key.
His expression became serious.
"This is not a normal key."
"What does it open?"
He looked at the symbol.
"Something your father wanted hidden."
A sudden noise interrupted us.
A sharp sound.
A phone vibrating.
Everyone looked around.
It wasn't Adrian's.
It wasn't mine.
It was Chloe's.
She looked terrified.
"I don't know that number."
Adrian immediately said:
"Don't answer."
But Chloe already had.
She put the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
Nobody spoke.
Then her face changed.
The color disappeared.
"Who is this?"
Silence.
Then Chloe slowly lowered the phone.
"What did they say?" I asked.
She looked at me.
Her eyes filled with fear.
"They said..."
She swallowed.
"They said they know Harper has the letter."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Who said that?"
Chloe looked at the phone screen.
Then whispered:
"They said they were standing outside."
Everyone turned toward the office door.
The hallway camera screen suddenly turned back on.
A figure appeared.
Standing directly outside.
Waiting.
Adrian looked at the monitor.
Then his expression changed completely.
Because he recognized the person.
"No..."
I looked at him.
"Who is it?"
Adrian didn't answer.
The figure outside slowly raised a hand.
And knocked three times.
Adrian whispered one name:
May you like
"Daniel Cross."
The door handle began to turn.
