“She never forgave me for not trying harder.”
Emily felt anger rising in her chest.
Her mother had died believing that her first daughter was lost forever.
And her father had kept the truth hidden.
But before Emily could ask another question, someone knocked at the front door.
Three slow knocks.
The same three knocks she had heard at midnight.
Richard went pale.
“Stay here,” he whispered.
He walked toward the door.
Emily followed him.
When he opened it, a woman stood on the porch.
She was in her late thirties, with dark hair, tired eyes, and a small silver necklace shaped like a star.
Emily recognized the necklace.
It was in every photograph of Anna.
The woman looked at Richard.
Then she looked at Emily.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said.
Her voice trembled.
“I wanted to come home years ago. But I was afraid.”
Emily couldn’t breathe.
The woman took a step forward.
“My name is Anna.”
Chapter 6: The Letter’s Final Secret
Emily stood frozen.
