“I’m sorry for leaving them like this. The only person who ever truly helped me was Claire. She told me that if anything happened to me, the kindest man she knew was her husband. That’s why I brought them to him.”
Ethan felt the air leave his lungs.
“Claire knew their mother?”
“There’s more.”
The investigator handed him an old photograph. Claire stood smiling in what looked like a community kitchen, holding two newborn babies. Beside her was a thin, exhausted woman.
On the back, in Claire’s handwriting:
“So I won’t forget them. Two miracles fighting to live.”
Ethan pressed the photo to his chest.
But the truth wasn’t finished yet.
“There’s a sealed file at a notary office,” the investigator said. “In Claire’s name. Only you can open it.”
Ethan knew everything was about to change.
The envelope had been sealed for over two years.
He opened it with shaking hands, surrounded by his lawyer, the social worker, and the notary.
Inside was a letter from Claire.