Chapter 2: Fourteen Envelopes
My hands were shaking as I counted the envelopes.
Fourteen letters.
One for every month since Alina had gone.
I turned to Veronica.
She hadn't moved.
She was watching me with that same composed expression she wore at dinner parties and school meetings.
The face that had convinced me she was safe.
"You hid these from my daughter," I said.
"I protected this family," she said.
"That woman walked out.
She doesn't deserve access to Sofia."
"She's three years old, Veronica."
Sofia was still standing in the doorway in that apron, watching us.
I went to her first.
I took the apron off and held her against my chest and felt her whole body trembling.
"Daddy," she whispered.
"Veronica said if I told you, she'd send me away too."
The room went very quiet.
I stood up slowly and looked at Veronica.
"She's three," I said again.
"You threatened a three-year-old."
Veronica's expression finally shifted.
Just slightly.
Something behind her eyes that wasn't composure anymore.
"You don't understand what Alina was," she said.
"If you open those letters, you'll regret it."
I picked up the first envelope.
My name was written on the back.
May you like
Not Sofia's.
Alina had written to me too.
