CHAPTER 9 — THE MISSING PIECE OF THE LETTER
I stared at the torn piece of paper in my hands for what felt like hours.
My father’s handwriting was still there.
His words were still there.
But the part I needed most was gone.
Someone had carefully removed the final section.
Not ripped it randomly.
Not damaged by accident.
Removed.
My fingers traced the torn edge.
A strange feeling settled over me.
Someone had known this letter existed.
Someone had wanted me to never read the truth.
And there was only one person who had everything to lose.
My mother.
“Jake…”
Megan’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at her.
She looked worried.
“What does the letter say?”
I handed it to her.
She read silently.
As her eyes moved across the page, her expression changed.
“She knew,” Megan whispered.
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Your father knew what your mother was capable of.”
I nodded.
“He tried to warn me.”
Megan sat beside me.
“And now you finally know why he was different.”
I looked down.
For years, I thought my father was just quiet.
Patient.
The calm one in the family.
But maybe he wasn’t quiet because he had nothing to say.
Maybe he was quiet because he had spent years trying to survive someone else’s anger.
I folded the letter carefully.
“We need to find the missing page.”
Megan looked at me.
“Do you think your mother has it?”
“I don’t think.”
I looked toward the bedroom door.
“I know.”
The next morning, I made a decision.
I was going to my mother’s house.
But this time, I wasn’t going there to argue.
I wasn’t going there hoping she would suddenly become honest.
I was going there to find answers.
Before leaving, I kissed Megan’s forehead.
“Lock the door behind me.”
Her expression became nervous.
“Jake…”
“I’ll be careful.”
She grabbed my hand.
“Promise me you won’t let her get inside your head again.”
I looked at her.
“I promise.”
When I arrived at my mother’s house, she wasn’t surprised to see me.
That bothered me.
She opened the door before I even knocked.
“I knew you would come.”
I stared at her.
“You knew?”
She stepped aside.
“Come in.”
The confidence in her voice made me uneasy.
I walked inside.
The house looked exactly the same.
The same pictures.
The same furniture.
The same place where I grew up.
But now everything felt different.
“Where is it?”
My mother looked at me.
“Where is what?”
“The rest of Dad’s letter.”
For the first time, her face changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“You found it.”
It wasn’t a question.
I felt my heart sink.
“So you know about it.”
She sat down slowly.
“Jake…”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Not this time.”
She looked at me.
“You don’t understand what your father was trying to do.”
“What was he trying to do?”
“Destroy our family.”
I almost laughed.
“Our family?”
“Yes.”
She stood up.
“He was always against me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.”
Her voice became emotional.
“Your father never understood what it meant to protect you.”
I stared at her.
“And you did?”
“Yes.”
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
“I protected you from people who would hurt you.”
I stepped closer.
“Like my wife?”
She looked away.
“That was different.”
“No.”
My voice hardened.
“It wasn’t.”
She became quiet.
I continued.
“You hurt Megan because you were afraid of losing control.”
“That’s not why.”
“Then why?”
She didn’t answer.
Because she knew.
I waited.
Finally, she whispered:
“Because she changed you.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She made you forget who you were.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“She made you stop needing me.”
There it was.
The truth.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Fear.
My mother wasn’t afraid of Megan.
She was afraid of becoming unnecessary.
But that fear had turned into something dangerous.
“Where is the page?”
She looked at me.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
She walked toward an old cabinet.
For a moment, I thought she was going to give it to me.
But instead, she opened a drawer.
Inside was a small box.
She removed an envelope.
My father’s handwriting was on it.
My heart stopped.
“You kept it.”
My mother held the envelope tightly.
“I kept everything.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I knew one day you would choose her.”
I stared at her.
“You still don’t understand.”
She looked confused.
“What?”
“This isn’t about choosing between you and Megan.”
I took the envelope from her hand.
“This is about right and wrong.”
For the first time, my mother looked defeated.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was the missing page.
I unfolded it.
The first sentence made my blood run cold.
“Jake, the truth about what happened to me before my death is something you deserve to know.”
I stopped.
My father’s death.
Suddenly, it didn’t feel as simple as I had always believed.
I kept reading.
“I am afraid your mother’s actions will eventually hurt someone else.”
My hands started shaking.
Then I reached the final line.
“If anything happens to me, do not believe everything you are told.”
I looked up slowly.
My mother was watching me.
May you like
And for the first time…
I wondered if my father’s death had really been an accident.
