Chapter 12 - THE LAST LETTER FROM A DEAD HUSBAND
Three months after Marcus Vale's arrest, Anna received a package.
It arrived on a rainy Tuesday morning.
No return address.
No explanation.
Only her name written across the front.
Anna carried it into the kitchen.
Inside was a small wooden box.
She recognized Daniel's handwriting on the lid.
FOR ANNA — WHEN THE TRUTH IS SAFE.
Her hands began trembling.
Dante entered as she opened it.
“Anna?”
She looked up.
“It's from Daniel.”
Dante stopped.
He approached slowly.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
Inside lay a letter, a photograph, and a small silver necklace shaped like a star.
Anna picked up the letter.
Her eyes filled.
My beautiful Anna,
If you're reading this, then I wasn't able to come home.
She covered her mouth.
Dante sat beside her.
Anna continued.
I need you to know that every decision I made was because I believed the truth mattered.
Luca Moretti was a good boy. Brave, stubborn, and determined to protect people he'd never met.
He reminded me of the kind of person I wanted our child to become.
Anna began crying.
Dante gently took her hand.
She continued reading.
If we have a daughter, tell her I loved her before I ever saw her face.
Tell her the stars aren't magic.
They won't stop bad things from happening.
But they can remind us that even in darkness, there are things worth looking for.
Anna wiped her cheeks.
The letter continued.
I left seven stars because seven was always our lucky number.
One for courage.
One for kindness.
One for honesty.
One for hope.
One for forgiveness.
One for family.
And one for home.
Anna smiled through her tears.
She remembered Daniel saying those words years earlier.
She had forgotten.
Or perhaps grief had buried them.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
Anna, if someone good comes into your life after I'm gone, please don't turn away because you think loving again would betray me.
Her breath caught.
Dante looked at her.
She continued.
Love isn't something you use up.
It's something you carry forward.
And if our daughter ever gives someone a lucky star, I hope it's because she sees kindness in them.
All my love, always, Daniel.
Anna lowered the letter.
For several minutes, she couldn't speak.
Then she began crying.
Dante held her.
He didn't feel jealous.
He didn't feel threatened by Daniel's memory.
Instead, he felt grateful.
Because the man Anna had loved before him had left behind a message that gave her permission to live.
That afternoon, Anna showed Sophie the necklace.
The little girl stared at the silver star.
“Pretty.”
Anna smiled.
“It belonged to Daddy.”
Sophie touched it carefully.
“Can I wear it?”
“When you're older.”
Sophie frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it's very special.”
The little girl considered.
Then looked toward Dante.
“Mr. D?”
“Yes, princess?”
“Can you keep it safe?”
Dante smiled.
“Of course.”
Sophie handed him the necklace.
“Don't lose it.”
“I won't.”
She looked serious.
“Promise?”
Dante nodded.
“Promise.”
Then she climbed into his lap.
“Mama says Daddy loved stars.”
“He did.”
“And you do too.”
Dante looked at the gold sticker on his sleeve.
“Yes.”
Sophie smiled.
“Then you can both be my star people.”
Dante's throat tightened.
He kissed the top of her head.
“I'd be honored.”
That evening, Rachel Donovan arrived with new information.
The financial investigation had uncovered an additional account connected to the Moretti Children's Foundation.
It contained money Marcus had hidden from the original audit.
A substantial amount.
Enough to restore many of the stolen funds.
Dante examined the documents.
“What happens now?”
Rachel explained that the money could be recovered through legal proceedings and directed toward restitution.
Dante nodded.
“Good.”
She looked at him.
“There's something else.”
He waited.
“Daniel Cross preserved more evidence than we realized.”
Anna looked up.
“What?”
Rachel opened another folder.
“Before his death, he arranged for certain documents to be released if anything happened to him.”
Dante frowned.
“Why weren't they released earlier?”
“The attorney holding them died. The records were transferred into storage and misfiled.”
Anna stared.
“And now?”
“We found them.”
Rachel placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel standing beside Luca.
Both were smiling.
Behind them stood a third person.
A woman.
Dante recognized her.
“Isabella.”
Rachel nodded.
Anna went still.
“What was she doing there?”
Rachel looked at the documents.
“Apparently, Isabella was involved much earlier than we thought.”
Dante's expression hardened.
He had believed Isabella was merely helping Marcus protect the conspiracy.
Now he understood she might have been part of its beginning.
Rachel continued.
“We found evidence that Isabella arranged the meeting where Luca and Daniel were ambushed.”
Anna covered her mouth.
Dante stared at the photograph.
For nine years, he had believed his brother died because of a mechanical failure.
Then he believed Marcus ordered the killing.
Now he was learning that the woman he almost married had helped arrange the circumstances of Luca's death.
He looked toward the staircase.
Sophie was asleep upstairs.
Safe.
For now.
Dante turned to Rachel.
“Does Isabella know you found this?”
Rachel shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Dante stood.
“Then let's make sure the authorities reach her before she disappears.”
But by the time investigators arrived at Isabella's Boston apartment, she was gone.
Her closets were empty.
Her phone was disconnected.
And on her dining room table lay a single gold star sticker.
May you like
Beneath it was a note.
DANTE, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY.
