Chapter 5
Sofia prepared twelve letters before she died.
One for every month after her death.
I never knew.
Elena did.
That hurt.
Not because she kept it from me.
Because Sofia apparently trusted a maid with something she did not trust the family system to preserve.
I brought Elena in.
“Tell me everything.”
She looked toward Celeste.
“No.”
I stepped between them.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“Sofia gave them to you?”
“Not directly.”
“Then?”
“She gave them to Mrs. Adler.”
Our former head housekeeper.
Retired after Sofia died.
Mrs. Adler distributed the first three.
I remembered Lily receiving one.
A pink envelope with a rabbit sticker.
I thought Sofia had left only a few.
“Then what happened?”
“Celeste took over household administration.”
Of course.
“The letters stopped?”
Elena nodded.
“How did you know there were more?”
“Mrs. Adler told me.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She thought Celeste had your permission.”
Again.
My name.
Always my name.
I looked at Celeste.
“How many did you intercept?”
She stared.
“Six.”
My jaw tightened.
“What did you do with them?”
“Stored them.”
“Where?”
Silence.
Grant answered:
“Private household safe.”
Celeste turned toward him with open hatred.
Good.
Their alliance was breaking.
I sent for the safe.
Six envelopes arrived.
LILY — AGE 3.
LILY — FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
LILY — WHEN YOU MISS ME.
My hands shook slightly.
I hated that anyone saw.
Did not care enough to hide it.
One envelope had already been opened.
I looked at Celeste.
“You read this.”
She said nothing.
I opened it.
Sofia’s handwriting.
My Lily,
If anyone ever makes you feel expensive, difficult, or inconvenient because you need ordinary things, remember this: children do not owe adults gratitude for being cared for.
I stopped reading.
The room went silent.
Elena started crying.
Celeste looked away.
There it was.
The exact theme of her cruelty.
Not coincidence.
She read Sofia’s warning.
Then built a system around proving the opposite.
I looked up.
“You did this because Sofia knew you.”
Celeste’s face hardened.
Finally.
“She thought I was cruel.”
“No.”
I folded the letter carefully.
“She thought you confused control with care.”
Celeste said nothing.
May you like
The difference mattered.
And apparently, Sofia had been right before I ever knew there was a problem.
