CHAPTER 46: THE LETTER THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST

Amelia stood beside her kitchen table, holding the photocopy with both hands. The name at the bottom seemed to stare back at her.

Evelyn.

She read the handwritten note again.

The woman in the photograph did not leave Blackwood voluntarily.

Her thoughts immediately returned to the letter Evelyn had left behind before disappearing. It was still unopened, kept safely among the personal belongings connected to the old investigation. Amelia had not read it because she believed it belonged to Alexander, and because opening it without understanding the circumstances felt like crossing a line she could not take back.

Now she wondered whether she had been waiting too long.

What if the letter explained why Evelyn disappeared? What if the incident involving Victoria, the missing company records and the woman in the photograph were all connected?

Amelia picked up her phone and called Alexander.

He answered almost immediately.

"Amelia?"

"I received something today. Another document connected to Blackwood."

His voice changed. "What kind of document?"

She sent him a photograph of the photocopy.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

"Where did you get this?"

"Someone left an envelope outside my apartment. The document was inside. There's a handwritten note saying Evelyn didn't leave Blackwood voluntarily."

Alexander exhaled slowly.

"Victoria's name and now Evelyn's. This is becoming more serious."

"Did Evelyn know about the investigation into Victoria?"

"She knew more about the company's internal affairs than I understood at the time. She attended meetings with senior executives and had access to information most employees never saw. But I can't tell you exactly what she was involved in."

"Could she have been investigating Victoria?"

"Possibly. Or they could have been working together. I don't want to assume anything without evidence."

Amelia walked towards the window, looking down at the street.

"Why are so many people from the past suddenly appearing in my life, Alexander? Clara, Victoria, Evelyn. First someone changes my project documents, then someone leaves this outside my door. It can't all be coincidence."

"No," he said quietly. "The timing is too suspicious to ignore."

"Someone knows we're asking questions."

"And someone wants us to stop."

She looked at the photocopy again.

"There's something else. Evelyn's letter is still unopened."

"I know."

"I keep thinking about it. What if it explains what happened?"

"Then we should consider reading it. But not because someone is trying to frighten us into doing it. We need to understand where it came from and whether it has been handled by anyone else."

Amelia appreciated his caution.

"How do we proceed?"

"I'll investigate the old company records and find out whether this document ever existed in our archive. You can look through what you already know about Evelyn, but don't contact anyone connected to the investigation without telling me."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You're giving me instructions again."

There was a brief silence.

"You're right. I should have said we should agree on how to stay safe while we investigate."

Amelia smiled faintly.

"Better."

"I'll have Jonathan preserve the relevant records. And I'll arrange for someone to check the security around your building, but only with your agreement."

"All right. But I don't want people following me everywhere."

"I understand."

They ended the call after agreeing to speak again once they had more information.

That afternoon, Amelia visited her mother at St. Mary's Hospital. Her condition had improved over the previous weeks, and the doctors were beginning to discuss the possibility of reducing some of her hospital visits.

When Amelia entered the room, her mother was sitting near the window, reading a magazine.

"Look who's finally here," her mother said with a smile.

"I was here yesterday."

"Yesterday doesn't count. You left too quickly."

Amelia laughed and placed a small bag of fruit on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Better. The nurse says I'm making progress. Apparently, I'm becoming a very difficult patient because I keep asking when I can go home."

"That's because you don't listen."

Her mother gave her a playful look.

"Now you're sounding like me."

For a while, they talked about ordinary things. Daniel's schoolwork, Amelia's design project and the possibility of having dinner together when her mother was discharged. Amelia tried to keep the conversation light, not wanting to bring the trouble surrounding Blackwood into the hospital room.

But eventually, she mentioned the document.

"I found something connected to an old Blackwood investigation."

Her mother's smile faded slightly.

"What investigation?"

"Something from fifteen years ago. It mentioned a woman named Evelyn."

The magazine slipped a little in her mother's hands.

"Why are you looking into Evelyn?"

Amelia watched her carefully.

"Because someone left a document at my apartment. It suggests she didn't leave Blackwood voluntarily."

Her mother looked towards the window.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the medical equipment.

Then she asked, "Has Evelyn contacted you?"

Amelia frowned.

"No. Why would she contact me?"

Her mother looked back at her. There was something unsettled in her expression.

"I was only asking."

"Do you know something about her?"

"No, sweetheart. I don't know anything."

But the answer came too quickly.

Amelia moved closer to the bed.

"Mum, if there's something you remember, you can tell me."

Her mother reached for her hand.

"I just don't want you getting hurt. You've already been through enough."

Amelia squeezed her fingers.

"I know. But pretending nothing is happening won't make it disappear."

Her mother nodded, though her eyes remained troubled.

After a few minutes, she changed the subject and asked about Daniel's latest school results. Amelia followed her lead, but the question stayed in her mind.

Has Evelyn contacted you?

It was not the question of someone hearing a name for the first time.

Meanwhile, Alexander was in the Blackwood archives, standing beside Jonathan Reed and two records specialists. Several old boxes had been brought out from secure storage. Dust covered their lids, and the labels showed dates from the period surrounding Evelyn's disappearance.

Jonathan placed a tablet on the table.

"We searched the digital archive and the physical inventory."

"And?"

"The photocopied document Amelia received isn't listed."

"Could it have been filed under another reference?"

"We checked the related investigation numbers. Nothing."

Alexander studied the old inventory sheets.

"Someone may have removed it."

"That's possible. But there's another problem."

Jonathan opened a second file.

"Several archive entries from that period were marked as transferred to an external storage facility. The destination is missing from the current system."

Alexander looked up.

"Who authorised the transfers?"

"That's what we're trying to establish. The original authorisation records are incomplete."

Alexander's expression darkened.

"How convenient."

Jonathan lowered his voice.

"There's no proof yet that the documents were deliberately removed. But the gaps are too specific to dismiss."

Alexander stared at the empty spaces in the inventory.

He remembered his father telling him that the company had to protect its reputation. He remembered being young enough to believe that reputation and truth were the same thing.

He was beginning to understand how dangerous that belief had been.

"Find the transfer records," he ordered. "And make sure nobody alters the remaining archive."

Jonathan nodded.

"Understood."

When Alexander returned to his office, he called Amelia. She did not answer, so he sent a message asking her to call when she was free.

By the time Amelia returned home, the evening sky had turned dark. She unlocked her apartment and stepped inside, tired from the hospital visit.

She placed her handbag on the sofa and walked towards the bedroom.

Something felt wrong.

The drawer where she had kept the brown envelope was slightly open.

She stopped.

She remembered putting the envelope inside that drawer before leaving for the hospital. She had not opened it again.

Slowly, she approached and pulled the drawer out.

The envelope lay on top of her documents.

It was no longer sealed.

Amelia's stomach tightened. She looked around the room, checking the windows and the front door. Nothing appeared disturbed. No drawers had been emptied, and nothing obvious was missing.

She picked up the envelope.

The photocopy was still inside.

But when she turned it over, she noticed something that had not been there before.

A new sentence had been written across the back in dark handwriting.

Stop looking for Evelyn if you want your family to remain safe.

Amelia's fingers went cold.

Someone had entered her apartment, opened the envelope and left it exactly where they had found it.

Her phone began ringing.

Alexander.

She answered immediately.

"Amelia? I've been trying to reach you."

"Someone has been inside my apartment."

His voice sharpened.

"What?"

"The envelope. It was sealed when I left. Now it's open, and someone has written another message on the document."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"Don't touch anything else. I'm coming over. Call the police and report the entry. Don't wait for me."

Amelia looked at the words again.

This time, the threat was not about her.

It was about her family.

And whoever had written it knew exactly which fear would make her hesitate.

She held the paper tightly, refusing to let her hands shake.

But one question kept repeating in her mind.

How much did her mother know about Evelyn?