Chapter 4 - The Letter That Never Arrived
Anne did not answer immediately.
The monitor beside her bed marked each passing second with a quiet electronic pulse.
Finally, she said, “Yes.”
Matthew gripped the back of a chair.
The room tilted around him. He thought of missed birthdays, first steps, school mornings, bedtime stories, and five years of moments he could never recover.
“You never told me.”
“I tried.”
Anne’s voice was weak but steady.
She explained that one month after Matthew left for London, Victor visited her apartment. He already knew she was pregnant.
Victor carried copies of Matthew’s emails, photographs of Matthew attending events with another woman, and an engagement announcement that appeared to show Matthew marrying the daughter of a powerful investor.
“He said you had chosen your future,” Anne continued. “He said you wanted me to stop calling.”
“That was a lie.”
“I know that now.”
Victor offered Anne money. She refused.
Then he threatened to cancel the private assistance paying for her mother’s medical treatment. He also warned that the Sullivan family would seek custody of the baby and use its resources to prove Anne was unfit.
“My mother was dying,” Anne said. “I was twenty-four, pregnant, and terrified. Victor gave me a document to sign promising I would never contact you.”
“The agreement he showed me said you accepted money.”
“I never took a cent.”
Matthew stared at the floor, ashamed of how easily pain had turned into resentment.
“I wrote to you after Sarah was born,” Anne said. “The letter was returned. Later, I received one with your signature telling me never to contact you again.”
“I did not write it.”
Anne looked toward the window.
“For years, believing that was easier than hoping you might come.”
Matthew approached the bed but stopped before getting too close.
“I should have found you.”
“You should have trusted me.”
He accepted the words without defending himself.
A nurse entered to say the operating room was ready. Anne looked toward the consent form, then at Matthew.
“Promise me Sarah will stay with Mrs. Delgado.”
“I promise she will stay wherever you want.”
“And your father goes nowhere near her.”
May you like
Matthew’s expression hardened.
“That promise will be easy to keep.”
