Chapter 2: Eleanor's Last Letter
Chapter 2: Eleanor's Last Letter
The wedding was forgotten.
Guests remained seated as the family gathered in a private room.
The groom's father opened a locked wooden box he had not touched since his wife's death.
Inside were dozens of letters.
Most were addressed to him.
One was different.
On the front, written in Eleanor's elegant handwriting, were four words:
Open if she returns.
His hands shook as he unfolded the paper.
The room listened.
"My dearest Henry,
If you are reading this, then Rose's child has finally found her way home.
Years ago, Rose was dying after the accident. She begged me to protect her unborn baby from the men who wanted the child's inheritance.
Before she disappeared, she gave me my wedding ring.
She said if anything happened to her, the child would someday need proof of who she was.
I promised I would keep her secret until it was safe.
If the child has returned, tell her the truth.
She was never abandoned.
She was loved every single day."
The groom's father could barely continue.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
The cleaner sat frozen.
For her entire life, she had believed her mother never wanted her.
Believed she had been forgotten.
Now she discovered that a dead woman had spent decades protecting her.
The groom's father reached into the box again.
At the bottom lay another envelope.
This one carried a name.
For Lily.
The cleaner gasped.
"Lily" was her name.
Inside was a photograph.
A younger Eleanor smiling beside Rose while holding a newborn baby.
On the back, Eleanor had written:
May you like
One day, she'll come home.
And when she does, tell her she belongs with us.
