She Thought She Was Saving a Homeless Old Man — Then She Discovered Why He Had Chosen Her

CHAPTER 10

Emily didn’t sleep that night.

She returned to the storage room where her mother’s belongings had been kept.

There was one place she hadn’t searched.

A wooden sewing box.

Inside was a sealed envelope.

Her name was written on it.

For Emily. When she is old enough to know.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

Dear Emily,

If you are reading this, then Arthur found you.

I hope he found you before they did.

I need you to know something.

I never abandoned you.

I left because I believed distance was the only way to keep you alive.

Arthur wanted to protect us.

But Arthur trusted people who didn’t deserve his trust.

One of them betrayed me.

Another helped hide the truth.

I couldn’t tell Arthur everything because I wasn’t sure who was listening.

Then came the night I knew I wouldn’t survive.

I asked Arthur to stay away from you.

Not forever.

Only until you were strong enough to decide for yourself who he was.

Emily stopped reading.

Tears blurred the page.

The next paragraph broke her heart.

You may wonder why I trusted Arthur at all.

Because when everyone else asked me what I could do for them, Arthur was the only man who asked what he could do for you.

But there is something I need you to understand.

If Arthur ever offers you his fortune, don’t accept it because you are my daughter.

Accept it only if you still remember the girl who had twenty dollars and gave them away.

Emily covered her mouth.

Her mother had known.

Somehow, she had known exactly who Emily would become.

The letter continued.

The truth is hidden in the necklace.

But the necklace is only the beginning.

The final evidence is not something you can hold.

It is someone you have already met.

Emily froze.

Someone she had already met.

Who?

She reread the sentence.

Then footsteps sounded behind her.

Emily slowly turned.

Victor Hale stood in the doorway.

“You’ve been very curious,” he said.