Chapter 7 - THE LAST LETTER
The letter was discovered three weeks later.
It had been hidden inside an old cookbook belonging to Eleanor.
The police found it after searching the Albany property again.
Victor read it alone.
Then he called Hannah.
“I need you to come here.”
When Hannah arrived, he handed her the letter.
She read it carefully.
Eleanor had written about David.
But she had also written about Victor.
She explained that David had spent years manipulating people into believing Victor was involved in illegal activity.
She knew the truth.
Victor was innocent.
But the most important paragraph concerned Matthew.
Eleanor wrote that she feared David would try to use her son as leverage.
She begged Victor to protect him.
And then came the final line.
IF MATTHEW EVER TRUSTS SOMEONE AGAIN, TRUST THAT PERSON TOO.
Hannah looked up.
Victor was staring at her.
“What?”
“She meant you.”
Hannah shook her head.
“We don't know that.”
“I think we do.”
She looked away.
“I don't want to become another person Matthew depends on because he has no one else.”
Victor nodded.
“I don't want that either.”
“Then what do you want?”
Victor was silent.
“For the first time in a long time, I want something for myself.”
Hannah waited.
“I want a life where my son isn't afraid.”
He paused.
“And I want you in it.”
Hannah's eyes filled with tears.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
She smiled through the tears.
“That isn't very romantic.”
“I've never been very good at romantic.”
She laughed.
It was the first time Victor had heard her laugh like that.
Warm.
Unrestrained.
Real.
Months passed.
David's trial approached.
Hannah's mother recovered.
Matthew returned to school.
But something remarkable happened.
The boy who had once refused to speak during class began participating.
He joined a reading group.
He made a friend.
He even complained about homework.
Principal Margaret Holloway called Victor one afternoon.
“He's changing.”
Victor smiled.
“I know.”
“He asked me whether Hannah could come to parent night.”
Victor laughed.
“I'll ask her.”
When Hannah arrived at the school, Margaret recognized her immediately.
“You're the waitress.”
Hannah smiled.
“And you're the principal.”
Margaret extended her hand.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For not understanding Matthew sooner.”
Hannah shook her head.
“You couldn't have known.”
Margaret looked toward the boy.
“Sometimes children tell us everything without saying a word.”
Hannah glanced at Matthew.
He was laughing with another child.
It was difficult to believe he was the same boy who had once sat silently behind a desk.
That evening, Matthew handed Hannah another drawing.
This time there was no red door.
No dark figure.
No gray house.
Instead, there were four people standing outside a restaurant.
Matthew.
Victor.
Hannah.
And Hannah's mother.
Above them was a bright yellow sun.
Hannah smiled.
“What's this?”
“Our family.”
Victor looked at the picture.
Hannah looked at him.
Neither corrected the boy.
Later that night, Victor walked Hannah home.
At her apartment building, he stopped.
“I have something for you.”
He reached into his coat.
Hannah expected another document.
Instead, he handed her a small silver key.
“What is it?”
“Your own key.”
“To what?”
“An apartment.”
She stared at him.
“I can't accept this.”
“You're not.”
“What?”
“I bought the building two years ago.”
Hannah frowned.
“Victor.”
“Your mother needs a better place.”
She shook her head.
“I said I wouldn't let you save me.”
“You're not letting me.”
He smiled.
“You're letting yourself accept a gift.”
She laughed.
“I still don't like it.”
“That's okay.”
He paused.
“You don't have to move tomorrow.”
Hannah looked at the key.
Then at him.
“I'll think about it.”
“I'll take that.”
He turned to leave.
“Victor?”
He looked back.
Hannah stepped forward.
She kissed his cheek.
“Thank you.”
For once, Victor Davis had no words.
And across the street, inside a dark car, someone watched them.
But this time, it wasn't David.
It was a detective.
May you like
And he had discovered something even more troubling.
David had not acted alone.
