Chapter 13: The Bloodstained Envelope
Roy drove through Richmond with both hands gripping the steering wheel.
Daniel sat beside him, repeatedly calling Samuel's number. Every call went straight to voicemail.
I sat in the back with Evelyn, holding my phone so tightly that my fingers hurt.
The photograph Samuel had sent remained on the screen.
A bloodstained envelope.
Henry's confession is inside the original.
I couldn't stop thinking about those words.
"What does he mean by the original?"" I asked.
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
"Henry kept several copies of important documents. But there was one envelope he never allowed Thomas to touch.""
"What's inside?""
"I don't know.""
Roy glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
"You're telling me you knew about this envelope and didn't mention it?""
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
"I didn't know Samuel had it.""
Daniel turned toward her.
"How did you know it existed?""
She hesitated.
"Because Thomas spent years trying to find it.""
I leaned forward.
"Why?""
Evelyn took a breath.
"Henry told me once that the envelope contained a written confession. He said it would prove that he had participated in hiding the truth about Patricia and Daniel.""
My stomach tightened.
"Henry admitted what he did?""
"Yes.""
I looked out the window.
The man I had loved for more than thirty years had carried terrible secrets.
He had watched me grieve for a child who was alive.
He had allowed another child to grow up believing he had been unwanted.
And now I was beginning to understand that he had also helped Thomas escape responsibility.
Roy turned onto a narrow residential street.
"Which house?""
Daniel checked the address Samuel had given him earlier.
"Number forty-two.""
We found a small brick duplex with a white front door.
The porch light was on.
The front window was broken.
Roy stopped the truck.
"Stay behind me.""
He climbed out.
Daniel followed immediately.
I tried to open my door, but Roy turned.
"Margaret, wait.""
"That's my son in there.""
Roy nodded.
"I know. But let me check first.""
He approached the house and knocked.
No answer.
Then he tried the door.
It opened.
The living room was in disarray. A lamp lay broken on the carpet, and a chair had been overturned.
"Samuel!"" Daniel shouted.
A weak voice came from the hallway.
"Back here.""
We rushed toward it.
Samuel was sitting on the kitchen floor, holding a towel against his forehead. His shirt was torn, and blood ran along his temple.
Daniel dropped beside him.
"Are you hurt?""
Samuel gave a tired laugh.
"Nothing serious.""
Roy crouched beside him.
"Who did this?""
Samuel looked toward the front door.
"Thomas.""
My heart sank.
"Did he take the envelope?""
Samuel shook his head.
"No. I hid it.""
"Where?""
He pointed toward the kitchen cabinet.
Daniel opened it.
Behind a stack of plates sat a small metal box.
Inside was a thick envelope sealed with red wax.
My name was written across it.
MARGARET DAWSON.
I began shaking.
Samuel looked at me.
"Henry told me to give it to you if he couldn't.""
I sat beside him.
"Why didn't you contact me sooner?""
His eyes filled.
"Because I thought you wouldn't want me.""
I took his hand.
"Don't ever say that again.""
He looked at me.
"I spent my whole life thinking I was the child nobody chose.""
I pulled him into my arms.
"You were never unwanted.""
He began crying.
I held him tightly.
For the first time, I was holding both of Henry's lost children in the same room.
Daniel sat beside us.
He looked at Samuel, then at me.
"Are we really brothers?""
Samuel wiped his face.
"Apparently.""
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Then you owe me twenty years of birthdays.""
Samuel laughed through his tears.
"I'll start with dinner.""
Roy stood near the window.
"We need to get you medical attention.""
Samuel shook his head.
"Not until you read that letter.""
I looked at the envelope.
The wax seal was cracked at one corner.
I carefully opened it.
Inside were three handwritten pages, a small photograph, and a folded legal document.
The first page began:
My dearest Margaret,
If this envelope has reached you, then I have failed to tell you the truth while I was alive.
I pressed my hand against my mouth.
Henry continued:
I did not merely allow Thomas to separate our family. I helped him hide the truth because I was afraid of losing my business, my reputation, and my remaining son.
My eyes blurred.
Daniel moved closer.
I continued reading.
I knew Thomas had pushed Daniel down the stairs. I knew he had frightened Patricia. And I knew that the hospital records had been altered.
I also knew that the person responsible for Patricia's death was not Thomas alone.
I stopped.
Samuel looked at me.
"Keep reading.""
The next sentence made my blood run cold.
I was there that night, Margaret.
I lowered the letter.
Roy turned from the window.
"What?""
I looked at the page again.
Henry had been at the hospital when Patricia died.
But the final paragraph contained something even worse.
The person who entered Patricia's room after Thomas left was someone I trusted with our entire family.
I stared at the small photograph inside the envelope.
It showed Henry standing beside Patricia's hospital bed.
A second figure stood in the doorway.
I recognized the face immediately.
I had seen that face at the funeral.
I had seen it in the storage facility.
And I had trusted that person for years.
I slowly lifted my eyes toward Evelyn.
She was staring at the photograph.
Her lips began to tremble.
"That's impossible," she whispered.
Samuel looked at her.
"What?""
Evelyn took one step backward.
"That photograph...""
Roy moved toward her.
"What about it?""
Evelyn shook her head.
May you like
Then she whispered:
"That's my mother.""
