Chapter 8-Letters in the Attic

After what Jace told me, I couldn't sleep.

I kept hearing his voice. "My dad didn't leave. He was protecting me."

But protecting him from what? And how was my family tied to it?

The next morning, I skipped the bus and walked to school. It gave me time to think. Or at least try.

My mind kept drifting back to the photo. To the warning note. To Jace's eyes when he talked about his father.

And to the thing I hadn't told him yet.

There were more photos.

And something else.

That night, while my mom was at work, I pulled down the ladder to the attic.

It smelled like dust, old fabric, and forgotten memories. I hadn't been up there since we moved in. It was the kind of place where time felt frozen.

I used my phone flashlight to scan the boxes until I found one labeled "College Stuff – N.C."

N.C. — my mom's initials. Nicole Cross.

I opened it and started digging. Old notebooks. Photos of people I didn't recognize. Then, at the bottom, a stack of faded envelopes tied together with string.

I untied them carefully.

The first one was addressed to Nicole.

The handwriting looked familiar.

I read the first line and my breath caught.

"I told you this would follow us forever. You didn't believe me, but now look — we're both paying the price. If anything happens to me, protect him. Protect Elena too, even if she never knows the truth..."

The letter wasn't signed.

But the writing matched the one on the photo.

Tyler.

Jace's father.

And he mentioned me.

I sat on the cold attic floor, shaking, the letter crumpled in my hand.

Jace's dad knew my name. Knew me — even before I was old enough to remember.

My mom had hidden this. Hid everything.

Whatever happened back then…

It wasn't over.