Chapter 13: The Letter She Left Behind
313 Words
The hospital corridor was painfully quiet.
Every second felt like an hour.
Damian hadn't moved from the operating room doors.
Neither had Ariana.
Finally...
The doors opened.
The surgeon removed his mask.
"Mr. Knight."
Damian stepped forward immediately.
"How is she?"
"The surgery was successful."
Ariana released the breath she'd been holding.
"But..."
The doctor's expression turned serious.
"She suffered a severe head injury."
"When she wakes up..."
"...there's a chance she may not remember everything."
Damian closed his eyes.
"Thank you, Doctor."
As the medical team wheeled Eleanor into a private room, one of the nurses approached Damian.
"Your grandmother asked us to give you this..."
She handed him a small cream-colored envelope.
"It's marked: Only if something happens to me."
Damian frowned.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
His grandmother's elegant handwriting filled the page.
«Damian,
If you're reading this, then my greatest fear has finally come true.
Someone in this family has been hiding the truth for years.
Don't trust appearances.
The person you think is protecting you...
may be the one destroying everything.
And when the time comes...
Find the Silver Key.
It will reveal the truth about your parents' deaths.»
Damian's hands froze.
His parents...
Their deaths had always been ruled an accident.
He slowly folded the letter.
Ariana noticed the change in his expression.
"What is it?"
Damian looked at her for a long moment.
Then, for the first time...
He chose to trust someone.
"My parents..."
"I don't think they died by accident."
Before Ariana could respond, a loud scream echoed from inside Eleanor's hospital room.
Everyone rushed inside.
The bed...
Was empty.
The heart monitor had been disconnected.
The window was wide open.
On the pillow...
Someone had left a single white rose.
And attached to it was a note.
«Stop looking for the truth... or the next funeral will be yours.»
- Writer
