The moment James vanishes into the crowd, my fingers tighten around the envelope, my pulse hammering like a war drum in my chest. I should toss it. Pretend none of this happened. But curiosity coils in my stomach, refusing to be ignored.
I walk home in a daze, the city humming around me, its lights and sounds blurring into white noise. The weight of the last few days presses against my ribs—Michael's proposal, Alex's ultimatum, and now… James.
Why now?
Why did he show up with this?
I swallow hard as I reach my apartment. The lock clicks behind me, sealing me in the quiet, but it does nothing to slow the pounding in my chest. My hands tremble as I tear open the envelope, the paper crinkling between my fingers.
Inside are a set of documents—old bank statements, faded photographs, and a letter with my name scrawled across the front in sharp, hurried handwriting.