Chapter 6: The Letter Hidden in the Room
I stared at the picture Vanessa had sent me.
The room was dark.
Nia’s bedroom.
The same room where my daughter had slept every night believing she was safe.
But she wasn’t.
Something white rested on the floor beside her bed.
A letter.
My hands tightened around my phone.
“Marcus?”” Rachel asked through the call.
I barely heard her.
“Vanessa has something.””
“Do not go there alone.””
“I need to know what’s in that letter.””
“You need to think carefully.””
I looked at Nia sitting beside me on the swing.
She was watching my face.
She already knew something was wrong.
“Dad?””
I forced myself to soften my expression.
“It’s okay.””
But even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true.
Nothing had been okay for a long time.
I ended the call and crouched in front of her.
“Nia, I need you to stay with Rachel for a little while.””
Her face immediately changed.
“No.””
The fear came so quickly that it hurt to see.
“I’m not leaving you.””
“Then why?””
“Because I need to handle something.””
She shook her head.
“That’s what adults say before they disappear.””
I froze.
“Nia…”
She looked down.
“Mom said that.””
The word hit me.
Her mother.
My first wife.
Nia’s biological mother had passed away years earlier, and ever since then, I had tried so hard to give my daughter a stable family.
Maybe I tried so hard that I ignored the cracks forming around us.
I sat beside her.
“I promise you something.””
She looked at me.
“I’m not disappearing.””
Her eyes searched mine.
“Really?””
“Really.””
After arranging for Rachel to pick her up, I drove back home.
Alone.
Against every warning.
But I wasn’t going back because Vanessa demanded it.
I was going back because I needed answers.
The house looked different when I arrived.
The same furniture.
The same pictures.
The same walls.
But now I noticed everything I had ignored.
The hallway where Nia always walked quietly.
The dining chair she stopped using.
The empty spaces in family photos.
I stepped inside.
Vanessa was waiting in the living room.
She looked calm.
Too calm.
“You came.””
I stared at her.
“Where is the letter?””
She smiled faintly.
“So that’s what you care about?””
“My daughter.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“That’s exactly the problem.””
I felt my anger rising.
“Where is it?””
Vanessa reached toward the coffee table.
A folded piece of paper sat there.
“I found it in her room.””
I picked it up.
“Why were you searching her room?””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Because I’m her stepmother.””
“No.””
I looked at her.
“You’re someone who violated her privacy.””
Vanessa laughed.
“You still don’t understand.””
“Understand what?””
“That Nia has been lying to you.””
I opened the letter.
The handwriting was messy.
Childlike.
My daughter’s handwriting.
My heart broke before I even read the first line.
*Dear Dad,*
I stopped.
Vanessa watched me.
“She wrote that because she wanted you to feel guilty.””
I ignored her.
I kept reading.
*I don’t know if I should tell you this because you love Vanessa and I don’t want you to be sad.*
My vision blurred.
I continued.
*But I think something is wrong with me because everyone keeps saying I make things difficult.*
I stopped breathing.
Everyone.
Not someone.
Everyone.
*I try to be better. I try not to ask for things. I try not to make mistakes. But she still gets angry.*
My fingers trembled.
Then I reached the final lines.
*Sometimes I think if I wasn’t here, Dad would be happier.*
The paper shook in my hand.
“No.””
The word escaped my mouth.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“See?””
I looked up.
“What?””
“She knows exactly how to manipulate you.””
I stared at her.
“You read this.””
She didn’t answer.
“You read my daughter’s private letter.””
“I had to.””
“No.””
My voice became quiet.
“You wanted proof.””
Her expression shifted.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
“You wanted something you could use against her.””
“That’s ridiculous.””
“Is it?””
I stepped closer.
“Because every single thing you’ve done has been about removing her.””
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“You have no idea what she’s like when you’re not around.””
“Then tell me.””
“She’s disrespectful.””
“Examples.””
“She ignores me.””
“Examples.””
“She makes Ava uncomfortable.””
“Examples.””
She opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Because she didn’t have any.
Not real ones.
Only complaints.
Only feelings.
Only excuses.
My phone suddenly buzzed.
A message from Rachel.
*I found another document. You need to see this immediately.*
Attached was a photo.
A school form.
My eyes moved across the page.
And then I saw the signature.
My entire body went cold.
Because the person who signed it wasn’t Vanessa.
May you like
It was me.
Except I had never signed it.
