Chapter 3: The Name Inside The Envelope
I didn’t open the letter again.
Not immediately.
Because suddenly, the paper in my hand didn’t feel like a memory.
It felt like evidence.
Marcus closed the food truck window and told his employee to take over for the afternoon.
I sat with Zola at a nearby picnic table while Marcus stood across from us, looking like a man trying to solve a puzzle that had no answer.
My daughter was happily drawing on a napkin.
She had drawn the cook again.
This time, she added Marcus beside him.
“You’re making friends with strangers too easily,” I whispered.
She smiled.
“Daddy would like him.””
The words broke something inside me.
Because Zola was right.
Daniel would have liked Marcus.
And that made everything worse.
Marcus sat down across from me.
“I need to ask you something.””
I folded the letter.
“Go ahead.””
“Did Daniel ever mention someone following him?””
My face went still.
“No.””
“Did he seem worried before he died?””
I thought about it.
The late nights.
The phone calls he took outside.
The way he would check the windows before locking the door.
I had explained all of it away.
Stress.
Work.
Bills.
Life.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
Marcus nodded slowly.
“He never wanted you involved.””
“That doesn’t make me feel better.””
“It shouldn’t.””
The honesty surprised me.
He looked at Zola.
“Daniel loved you both more than anything.””
I looked down.
“Then why keep secrets?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because neither of us knew.
A breeze moved through the market, carrying the smell of barbecue and fresh bread.
For a moment, everything almost felt normal.
Then my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
But something inside me told me to answer.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a man’s voice.
“Emily Carter?””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Yes?””
“You need to stop asking questions about your husband.””
My entire body went cold.
I stood.
“Who is this?””
“You found Marcus.””
I looked across the table.
Marcus immediately noticed my face.
“Who is this?”” I repeated.
The man laughed quietly.
“You always were too trusting.””
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Marcus stood.
“Emily.””
I looked at him.
“How did he know I found you?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That was the worst part.
Because he knew.
Zola looked up from her drawing.
“Mommy?””
I forced my voice to stay calm.
“What?””
“Why is Daddy’s name on the paper?””
I looked down.
She wasn’t pointing at her drawing.
She was pointing at the envelope.
The envelope I had placed beside me.
My blood ran cold.
Because beneath Daniel’s handwriting, there was another name.
A name I hadn’t noticed before.
A name written in a different ink.
*Ethan Carter.*
Marcus saw it.
And whispered the words I never expected to hear.
“Your husband wasn’t hiding the business from you.””
May you like
He looked terrified.
“He was hiding who was trying to destroy it.””
