A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
A hidden compartment.
The parchment was a letter, penned in my grandparent’s elegant, familiar script. My hands shook as I unfolded it. The words blurred at first, then coalesced into a chilling clarity.
My dearest, brave one,
If you are reading this, I am gone. And I pray you are well, far from the shadows I was forced to live in. This box, this small, insignificant thing, is the only way I could tell you the truth. The wealth, the adoration, the public displays of affection for them… it was a cage. A gilded one, yes, but a cage nonetheless. A lifetime of appeasement. A lifetime of protecting our family from… them.
A skirt hanging on a closet door | Source: Midjourney
A skirt hanging on a closet door | Source: Midjourney
My breath hitched. My eyes darted to the next paragraph, fear beginning to coil in my stomach.
You always wondered why they were favored. Why I seemed to neglect you. My darling, it was to protect you. To keep you out of the reach of their darkness. Their brilliance, their charm, their success? It was a façade bought with silence, with my money, with my unending vigilance. The truth of what they did, what they were capable of, would have destroyed us all. It would have destroyed you.
My mind reeled. WHAT? What were they talking about? What darkness? What did they do?
The small key within this box is for a safety deposit box. Account number and bank details are on the back of this letter. Inside, you will find a full accounting, the proof of the terrible things I spent my life covering up. The payments, the threats, the evidence I gathered, hidden away for decades, should the worst ever come to pass. I couldn’t risk it falling into the wrong hands. Not theirs, and not yours without proper context. I couldn’t risk them finding out you knew. That I told you. They are dangerous, my love. More dangerous than you can ever imagine.
Shredded ties on the floor | Source: Midjourney
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