Chapter 31 - THE UNOPENED LETTER
On a chilly autumn morning, Ethan was organizing old tools inside the workshop down by the wooden boat dock.
He picked up a rusty iron tackle box that had been retrieved from his late mother's estate decades ago.
As he knocked the dirt off the bottom panel, a secret hidden compartment popped open with a dry metallic click.
Inside lay a thick, yellowed envelope stamped with an unfamiliar red wax seal bearing an antique crest.
The envelope was addressed to: TO MY SON ETHAN — OPEN ONLY WHEN YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE SAFE.
Ethan wiped his greasy hands on a rag, his heart skipping a beat as he stared at his mother's handwriting.
He tore open the thick paper, pulling out a handwritten letter dated three days before his mother's mysterious death in 1999.
The letter read:
"My dearest Ethan, if you are reading this, your father has successfully convinced you that he is on your side."
"Do not trust a single word he tells you about your daughter's medical condition or your mother's death."
"He was never working for the United States government, Ethan... he is the founder of the syndicate."
"And the child you are raising isn't your biological daughter... she is—"
May you like
Ethan’s thumb covered the final sentence as a shadow suddenly fell across the open doorway of the workshop.
He slowly turned his head around, seeing his father standing in the doorway holding his silver-topped cane with a cold, terrifying smile.
