“Maria… what really happened to Mrs. Claire?” she asked carefully one afternoon.
Maria hesitated, glancing around nervously.
“Mr. Carter’s father… Henry Carter… he never accepted her,” she whispered. “He said she wasn’t good enough. That she was after the family’s money. One night, she just… disappeared. Mr. Henry told Nathan she ran away with another man.”
The story didn’t sit right.
Curiosity turned into urgency. Together, they searched the attic, going through Claire’s forgotten belongings. Inside an old bag, hidden between folds of fabric, they found an envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
“My sweet Ethan,” she read aloud, her voice trembling, “if you’re reading this, it means bad people forced me to leave to protect you. I would never abandon you. Keep your teddy bear—it’s my hug until I can come back.”
Her chest tightened with anger.
Claire hadn’t left.
She had been forced out.
Determined, she used an old contact to track Claire down. They found her in a small café across town. The reunion was painful. Claire looked thinner, exhausted, afraid.