Chapter 30 - THE UNOPENED LETTER FROM EUROPE
Three days later, Lily and Victor returned to their quiet lakeside home near Lake Michigan, welcomed by Ethan’s joyful laughter.
Ethan ran across the green lawn, throwing his small arms around Victor’s legs before giving Lily a tight, warm hug.
Rosa and Marco hosted a celebratory dinner on the back porch, filled with fresh food, music, and the laughter of neighborhood children.
As night fell over the lake, Lily sat on the porch swing, watching Victor patiently teach Ethan how to build a wooden toy sailboat.
Detective Quinn walked up the porch steps, carrying a small, airmail package that had just arrived via diplomatic courier from Paris.
"This was delivered to the Blackwood foundation office in downtown Chicago an hour ago," Quinn said, handing the parcel to Lily.
The envelope was made of thick linen paper, bearing an official wax seal from an international law firm in Geneva, Switzerland.
The handwriting on the front read: TO MY SON ETHAN - TO BE OPENED ON HIS EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY.
Tucked inside the transparent plastic sleeve was a small, recent photograph of a woman standing near the Eiffel Tower, wearing Serena’s missing silver locket.
Lily’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the photograph, her heart pounding with intense, overwhelming wonder.
Victor stepped over, looking down at the photograph in total, stunned silence as the cold wind whistled off Lake Michigan.
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"Serena...?" Victor whispered in a voice barely above a breath, staring at the woman's unmistakable smile.
"Who sent this package from Paris three years after her funeral?"
