Vivian leaned forward.
“Open the letter.”
“It is addressed to Claire,” Samuel said.
“She’s sitting in a room with his children.”
“And your father instructed that the letter remain private unless Claire chose otherwise.”
I unfolded it.
My dearest Claire,
By the time you read this, I will have broken the one promise I wanted most to keep: that you would never be alone again.
My vision blurred.
I continued.
The photograph in this box is the first picture I ever kept of you. You were exhausted, underpaid and still worried that sitting for five minutes might inconvenience someone else. I loved you long before you believed me capable of it.
The bracelet belonged to my mother. I had it engraved after your doctor confirmed what I suspected.
My hand froze.
I read the sentence again.
Your doctor confirmed.
A soft sound escaped my throat.
“What does it say?” Vivian demanded.
