Chapter 3: The Letter in the Rain**
Elena unfolded the crumpled paper with shaking fingers. The ink was slightly smeared from rain and small, sweaty palms, but the elegant, slanted handwriting was burned into Elena’s memory. It belonged to Clara.
> *Elena,*
> *If Leo has handed you this, it means I gathered enough strength to stand on my own two feet one last time to look at you. I didn’t die in the fire at Blackwood Manor, Ellie. But the girl you knew died that night.*
> *I lived in the shadows because shame made a home inside my bones. But God gave me Leo. He has never known wealth, but he has known love. Now, my time is running out, and the wolves who set that fire are circling closer.*
> *Don't go to the police. They were bought seven years ago. Bring Leo to St. Jude’s Abandoned Wharf, Warehouse 4. Come alone before sundown, or he will have no one left.*
> *Forgive me.*
Elena pressed the letter against her lips, stifling a ragged sob.
"Are you crying because I’m dirty?" Leo asked quietly, shifting his scuffed sneakers. "Mom said I should have washed my face, but the water in our building was turned off yesterday."
"No, sweet boy," Elena murmured, pulling him into an embrace that defied every rule of her guarded existence. The smell of woodsmoke and lavender clung to his tattered shirt. "I'm crying because I thought I was alone in this world. But I have you."
She stood up and took his small hand in hers. "Let's get in the car, Leo. We have a lot of work to do."
May you like
As they hurried toward her black sedan, Elena failed to notice a dark SUV parked across the street, its tinted window rolling down just enough to reveal the lens of a high-powered camera clicking in rapid succession.
---
