Chapter 20 - THE UNSEEN HANDClara froze.
A black envelope lay on the floor.
Thick.
Expensive.
Sealed with dark gold wax.
The Vance family crest.
Her heart began pounding.
Evelyn was serving a fifteen-year sentence.
So who had sent it?
Clara opened the envelope.
Inside was an old black-and-white photograph.
She stared at it.
A young Evelyn stood beside Julian's father.
But behind them stood another man.
A man whose face looked disturbingly similar to Julian's.
Clara turned the photograph over.
A handwritten message waited on the back.
Evelyn was only a pawn.
Her breathing stopped.
The next line was worse.
You saved the boy, Clara.
Then:
But you have never met the father he was actually named after.
And finally:
I'll see you soon.
Clara slowly lowered the photograph.
The ocean breeze moved through the open balcony doors.
She looked toward the beach.
At first, there was nothing.
Then she saw him.
A tall figure standing near the edge of the cliffs.
Long dark coat.
Motionless.
Watching.
Clara couldn't see his face.
But somehow, she knew he was looking directly at her.
The figure raised a glass.
A silent toast.
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Behind Clara, Leo began crying softly in his nursery.
Julian woke.
“Clara?”
She turned toward him.
For a second, she considered telling him everything.
Then she looked back toward the empty beach.
The figure was gone.
She closed her hand around the photograph.
Their nightmare was supposed to be over.
Perhaps it was.
Perhaps the past had simply opened another door.
Clara walked back toward her family.
Julian reached for her.
She slipped into his arms.
Outside, the waves continued crashing against the shore.
And somewhere beyond the darkness, someone was waiting.
The Vance family had survived one war.
But the next one…
May you like
might reveal the secret that had been buried for twenty years.
TO BE CONTINUED…
