Chapter 2 - The Letter Julian Never Sent
Sarah’s hands began shaking.
Seven years earlier, she had received another letter carrying Julian’s name.
That letter had destroyed whatever hope she had left.
She had been twenty-two, frightened, pregnant, and newly fired from her position at the Vance Foundation.
The message had been brutally simple.
Do not contact me again.
Whatever happened between us was a mistake.
Take the money being offered and disappear.
Sarah had refused the money.
But she had obeyed the final instruction.
She disappeared.
Now Julian stared at the envelope Mrs. Delgado held.
“Where did you get that?”
“The basement personnel archive.”
Conrad Sterling crossed the room quickly.
“That area is restricted.”
Mrs. Delgado looked at him.
“It was being cleared because you ordered the records destroyed tomorrow morning.”
Conrad’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Sarah saw it.
So did Julian.
“Destroyed?”
Julian asked.
Conrad straightened his jacket.
“Routine document disposal.”
Julian held out his hand.
“Give Sarah the envelope.”
Mrs. Delgado passed it to her.
Victoria suddenly stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous.”
Sarah tore the seal.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
Sarah recognized Julian’s handwriting immediately.
She had once kept grocery lists he scribbled because she had loved seeing his handwriting.
The message was dated eight years earlier.
Sarah,
I heard you left without speaking to me.
I don’t understand what happened.
Please call me.
Whatever they told you, I did not ask anyone to fire you.
I need to see you.
Julian.
Sarah read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
Her chest felt hollow.
Julian watched her face.
“What does it say?”
She handed it to him.
His eyes moved across the page.
Victoria began backing away.
Julian noticed.
“Where are you going?”
“I need some air.”
“No.”
That one word stopped her.
Sarah reached inside her old wallet.
Behind Leo’s school photograph was another folded piece of paper.
She had carried it for years.
She placed it beside Julian’s handwritten letter.
The difference was obvious.
The first letter had been typed.
Only the signature had supposedly been his.
Julian examined it.
“I never wrote this.”
Sarah’s eyes filled with anger.
“I built my entire life around believing you did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You had eight years to find me.”
“I was told you moved overseas.”
Sarah turned toward Victoria.
Victoria’s expression had become dangerously still.
Julian followed Sarah’s gaze.
“Who told you that?”
He asked.
Sarah answered before Victoria could.
“The same woman who handed me the letter telling me to disappear.”
Julian’s face hardened.
“Who?”
May you like
Sarah stared directly at Victoria.
“She did.”
