The Letter Nathan Never Wrote
Chapter 04 - The Letter Nathan Never Wrote
The envelope was yellowed along the edges.
Elena had carried it for seven years.
Nathan recognized the handwriting immediately.
Not because it was his.
Because someone had tried very hard to make it look like his.
Elena handed it to him.
He read silently.
Elena,
My responsibility is to my family and the company. What happened between us was a mistake. I will arrange financial support, but I do not want a relationship with you or the children.
Please don't contact me again.
Nathan.
His hands began shaking.
"I didn't write this."
Elena looked away.
"I know that now."
Nathan stared at the signature.
Seven years earlier, Elena had believed every word.
She had been twenty-nine, pregnant with triplets, terrified and alone.
Nathan had been lying unconscious in a hospital after a highway accident.
But Elena hadn't known the extent of his injuries.
Evelyn had visited her apartment four days after the crash.
She brought flowers.
Then she brought the letter.
"You're making his recovery harder," she had said.
Elena remembered standing barefoot in her tiny kitchen, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.
"I need to see him."
"He doesn't want to see you."
"I don't believe you."
So Evelyn placed the letter on the table.
Elena recognized what she thought was Nathan's signature.
Then came the cruelest sentence.
"If you really love my son, let him go."
Elena did.
Not because she was weak.
Because she believed Nathan had chosen to abandon them.
Across the estate courtyard, Nathan finished reading.
He looked at his mother.
"Did you write this?"
Evelyn's lips tightened.
"I did what was necessary."
A stunned murmur passed through the crowd.
Nathan's face collapsed.
Elena had imagined this confrontation hundreds of times.
She had imagined screaming.
She had imagined satisfaction.
Instead she felt grief.
Seven years could not be returned.
Three first steps.
Three first words.
Three kindergarten mornings.
Three boys asking why every other child seemed to have a dad.
Nathan folded the letter carefully.
"Where were the real letters Elena sent me?"
Evelyn said nothing.
Madison covered her mouth.
Nathan turned toward her.
"You saw the box."
Madison nodded slowly.
"Where is it?"
Evelyn finally spoke.
"I destroyed it."
Elena's eyes filled.
Nathan looked at his mother as if he no longer recognized her.
But then a quiet voice interrupted them.
"You didn't destroy all of it."
Everyone turned.
At the top of the mansion staircase stood Nathan's younger sister, Caroline.
May you like
She was holding a worn cardboard box.
And it was overflowing with unopened letters.
