Aftering back to the mansion from the hospital, I had left the letter there with the thought to read itter alone when I had time to rx. It wasn’t like I had forgotten about it, more like I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.


    "In my closet. Should I go get it now?" I offered.


    "No. Eat first. We can read it right after dinner," Hayden said as he began eating.


    I chewed at the food while my mind wondered why Hayden wanted to read the letter that Ethan gave to me so much? Was he just jealous and wanted to pry into what Ethan had written? Was that it?


    Finally, dinner was over, and we headed to Hayden’s living room where he waited for me to go fetch the letter that Ethan had given me.


    When I opened the envelope there was another envelope inside that looked much older than the one on the outside. Something about the old and slightly worn envelope told me that the letter inside wasn’t written recently and that it wasn’t written by Ethan.


    There was no point in wondering or guessing about the identity of the person who wrote it or the content of the letter at this point because all I had to do was open the second envelope.


    I could feel Hayden’s eyes on my shaky hands as I held the old envelope between my fingers. What exactly is inside?


    "Open it," Hayden said encouragingly.


    "Ok…" I replied in a whisper before my fingers moved to carefully unseal and open the envelope.


    The paper inside seemed to be in good condition and I could tell that this envelope had never been opened before. I removed the paper from the envelope and unfolded it to reveal the handwritten letter inside.


    My hand shook and my brows furrowed in disbelief when I saw the familiar handwriting that I will forever recognize. Father’s handwriting. There’s no mistaking it, this is definitely my father’s handwriting.


    "Dad…" I whispered.


    "Read it to me," Hayden instructed calmly as he backed away from me as if to give me some space and some privacy.


    Hayden didn’t seem so surprised that my father was the one who wrote this letter and that this was never truly a letter from Ethan from the start. Many questions emerged into my mind but none of them were as important as the content of the letter from my father that was right in front of me right now. When did he write this? Howe Ethan has a letter to me from my father?


    "Dear My Lisa…" I began reading out loud.


    ’If you are reading this then your mother and I are probably long gone from this world. Your mother and I decided to write you this letter so that we can congratte you on one of the most important days of your life, your wedding day. We wish with all our hearts that you will be smiling as a happy bride on this memorable day while standing proudly next to the love of your life.


    Although we may not be with you, we hope that you know that your mother and father love you so very much.


    How old are you now, Lisa?


    You must have grown into a beautiful young woman who has your mother’s kind smile and wonderful spirit. It’s such a shame that we both didn’t live long enough to witness you blossom into the woman that you are today. You must be confused about many things and hurt by the many things that have probably happened to you all because of our selfishness.


    We know that we owe you some answers and although we can’t anticipate all your questions, here are our answers.’


    "Is that enough already...?" I asked in a small and broken voice as more tears streamed down my eyes.


    I could barely form the words anymore as my sobs wrecked my body. It was getting difficult to breathe and I no longer wanted to read these words from my parents to Hayden.


    "Keep going…" Hayden demanded emotionlessly.


    "No…I can’t…" I admitted truthfully.


    I had no idea what was in the letter or why my parents chose to write it. Just reading it hurts. I could feel so much of their love, fears, sorrow, and regret in every word written on this piece of paper. Worst of all, it seemed like my parents knew that their life could be in danger. Did they know that they were going to die?


    "Yes, you can…" Hayden stated firmly.


    I bit on my lower lip as I tried to stifle my sobs and stop my tears. It was hard. I ced the paper down on the table in front of me before using my fingers to wipe the tears away from my eyes. My vision felt so blurry. After blowing my nose unattractively into a tissue, I picked up the letter again and began reading as Hayden watched me.


    "If you haven’t figured it out by now, I would like to confess that I was part of a mafia gang and family…" I began reading.


    ’When you were young, a certain incident made us reflect on our role as parents. We felt that we couldn’t provide you with the safety and security that you deserve given my position in the gang. Shortly after, we decided to cut ties with the mafia and go into hiding. All of it was to give you a fair shot at a normal life.


    I hope that we have provided you with a good and normal childhood as we raised you in a normal family. However, as we are writing this, we have realized that the dream world that we have created may notst. If something may befall us, then it is ourst wish that you survive and that you have a wonderful and long life.


    Our decision to cut ties with the mafia wasn’t to keep you away from them but we wanted to give you a chance to choose for yourself what you want to do with your life. If for that to happen, both of us need to disappear, then that is the price that we are willing to pay.’


    --To be continued…