Chapter Seven - The Letter

Dexter could not get his mind off the envelope.

Though he left Selena’s apartment, he could not get his mind off the faded paper which had his name on it. She had kept that letter for six years, carrying it through a life he knew almost nothing about.

He found it difficult to sleep that night.

By morning, his decision was made.

He needed answers.

Dexter drove to Selena’s apartment after work. When she opened the door, surprise crossed her face.

“You came back.”

“I need to talk to you.”

Selena moved aside.

Adrian was sitting on the living-room floor, stacking colorful blocks into a wobbling tower. The moment he spotted Dexter, his whole face lit up.

"Daddy!"

Dexter smiled before he could stop himself.

"Hello, little man."

Adrian scrambled to his feet and ran to him.

"Are you staying?"

"I can stay for a little while."

"Good."

Selena watched from across the room, quiet.

Dexter dropped down onto the floor beside Adrian and joined the tower-building, and for a few minutes, the questions crowding his mind went quiet too.

The tower toppled. Adrian burst out laughing.

"You did that!"

"I did not," Dexter said, laughing despite himself. "Your tower was unstable from the start."

"You're blaming my tower?”

“Absolutely.”

Eventually, Adrian went into his room to find a toy.

Dexter turned toward Selena.

Her smile disappeared.

“I knew you would ask.”

“You said it contained something you were afraid to tell me.”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me now.”

Selena looked down at her hands.

“I wrote it before Adrian’s birth.”

Dexter's heart tightened.

She nodded.

“I wanted to tell you everything.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because things changed.”

“What things?”

Selena hesitated.

“I was scared.”

Selena closed her eyes.

“There is more.”

Dexter stood.

“Then let me read it.”

She turned toward him.

“If you read it, everything changes.”

“Everything has already changed.”

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Finally, Selena walked to a drawer and removed the envelope.

She held it out.

Dexter took it carefully.

“Why did you keep it?”

“Because I could never bring myself to destroy it.”

He looked at the envelope.

“Did you ever intend to give it to me?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“The night before I left.”

Dexter remembered the rain. Her tears. Her trembling voice.

Promise me.

His chest tightened.

“You came to my apartment that night.”

“Yes.”

“You were going to give me this.”

“I was.”

“What happened?”

Selena’s eyes filled with tears.

“I changed my mind.”

“Because you were afraid?”

She nodded.

“Of what?”

Before she could answer, Adrian returned.

“Mommy, look!”

He held up a small toy car.

Selena immediately wiped her eyes.

“That’s nice, sweetheart.”

Adrian looked between them.

“Why are you sad?”

“I’m not,” Selena said quickly.

Dexter noticed how careful Selena became whenever Adrian was near — her voice smoothed out, her words measured, as if she was afraid even the smallest tension might reach him.

It made Dexter wonder what else she'd spent years shielding him from.

Later, once Adrian had been put to bed, Dexter opened the envelope.

Inside was a single folded sheet of paper. Selena's handwriting.

He began to read.

My dear Dexter,

If you're reading this, I finally found the courage to tell you the truth.

I wanted you to know about the baby.

Dexter stopped.

The baby.

He forced his eyes to keep moving.

I found out I was pregnant not long after we separated. I wanted to come back to you — I wanted to tell you that you were going to be a father. But before I could, I learned something that frightened me.

His breathing slowed, went shallow.

Someone had been asking questions about you. About your family. About the company.

I was warned to stay away from you.

The letter went on.

I don't know what they wanted, but I knew they were watching. I believed leaving was the only way to keep you and the baby safe.

Dexter lowered the page.

His mind raced.

This wasn't about Selena losing her feelings.

It wasn't about their arguments.

Someone had interfered.

He continued reading.

I know you may hate me for keeping our child from you. But if I had told you, I was afraid they would use the baby to reach you.

Dexter's eyes burned.

At the bottom of the letter was one final sentence.

There is only one person who knot

everything that happened.

His name is Gabriel Hart.

Dexter froze.

Gabriel.

His trusted assistant.

The same man he had asked to investigate Selena's past.

He read the sentence again.

Then his phone vibrated.

Gabriel was calling.

Dexter stared at the screen.

He answered.

“What,?”

Gabriel was silent for several seconds.

“Sir, I found something.”

“What?”

“The man you asked me to investigate had connections to your father's company.”

“I know.”

“There’s more.”

Dexter's grip tightened around the phone.

“What?”

“He disappeared six years ago.”

Dexter looked down at Selena's letter.

“And where is he now?”

Gabriel hesitated.

“We're still trying to locate him.”

Dexter stood slowly.

“Keep looking.”

“Yes, sir.”

The call ended.

Dexter looked at the letter again.

For six years, Selena had carried a secret because she believed it would protect him and Adrian.

Now Dexter understood one thing clearly.

The past had never truly disappeared.

It had only been waiting for him to find it.

And somewhere in that past was the person who had forced Selena to walk away.

Dexter folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket.

He would find that person.

But first, he needed to know why Gabriel Hart’s name was written at the bottom of Selena’s letter.