Chapter 18 - ANNA’S ROOMThe room smelled faintly of cedar and Anna’s old perfume.
Police had returned the items recovered from Richard’s storage unit.
Anna’s books were back on the shelves.
Her wedding portrait hung on the wall again.
Sophie walked to the window.
“Celeste said this room belonged to Richard.”
Ethan knelt beside her.
“She was wrong.”
“Does it belong to Mommy?”
“It belongs to our memories of her.”
Sophie placed the photograph on the desk.
Ethan opened the curtains.
Sunlight entered the room for the first time in months.
They spent the afternoon sorting Anna’s letters.
Many were ordinary.
She wrote about Sophie’s first steps, Ethan’s terrible cooking, and the family trips they planned to take.
Not every message contained a warning.
Not every memory had been touched by Celeste’s crimes.
That realization mattered.
Ethan had begun to remember Anna only as a victim.
The letters returned her laughter, stubbornness, humor, and hope.
Inside a small wooden box, Sophie found a birthday card Anna prepared before her death.
It was meant for Sophie’s seventh birthday.
Sophie would turn seven in three weeks.
Ethan read it aloud.
My brave Sophie, the world will sometimes ask you to be quiet when something feels wrong.
You do not have to be quiet.
Find someone safe.
Keep talking until they hear you.
Sophie looked toward her father.
“I kept talking in the suitcase.”
“Yes.”
“You heard me.”
“I will always listen.”
The card also contained instructions for a gift hidden beneath the window seat.
Ethan opened the compartment.
Inside was a small brass telescope decorated with blue stars.
Sophie carried it to the balcony.
She looked toward the distant water.
The family lighthouse was barely visible beyond the trees.
Ethan realized Anna had connected every clue to things Sophie loved.
Stars.
The moon.
The lighthouse.
The photograph.
Anna had hidden the truth without placing the burden of understanding it on a child.
She trusted Ethan to connect the pieces.
He wished he had recognized the danger earlier.
But Anna’s second message had anticipated his guilt.
He may not see danger immediately, but when he sees it, he will cross any distance to reach you.
Sophie lowered the telescope.
“Daddy, can Mommy’s room become a place that helps people?”
May you like
Ethan looked around.
The idea began changing the mansion before he answered.
