Chapter 3: The Second Letter

My fingers trembled as I picked it up.

Unlike the first letter, this one was sealed in a worn brown envelope. Across the front, written in neat black ink, were just two words.

For Maya.

My heart pounded.

I looked at my bedroom door to make sure it was locked before slowly breaking the seal.

Inside was a single sheet of paper.

It read:

"If you're reading this, it means they haven't found this letter yet."

I frowned.

"The truth about your brother didn't die with him. Someone made sure everyone believed he was gone. Trust no one, not even the people you love most."

That was all.

No name.

No explanation.

Just those chilling words.

I read the letter again and again until every sentence was burned into my memory.

Then I heard footsteps outside my room.

"Maya?" my mother called.

I quickly folded the letter and slipped it beneath my mattress.

"Yes, Mum?"

She opened the door halfway and stared at me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she asked quietly,

"Have you been looking through your brother's things again?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Why would you ask that?"

Her face turned pale.

She shook her head.

“Forget I said anything.”

She closed the door before I could stop her.

I waited until her footsteps disappeared.

Then I pulled the letter back out.

Something didn't feel right.

My mother knew something.

And for the first time in three years...

I believed she had been hiding it from me.