Chapter 22 - The Letter Inside the Box
The train settled into a steady rhythm.
Only then did Emily notice that the wooden box had grown warm.
A faint clicking sound echoed from within.
Margaret smiled softly.
"It recognizes movement."
Emily carefully placed it on a nearby seat.
The lock rotated by itself.
No key.
No code.
The lid slowly opened.
Inside lay three objects.
A sealed envelope.
An old fountain pen.
And a faded family photograph.
Emily picked up the photograph first.
She gasped.
Her father stood beside a young woman she recognized as her mother.
Standing between them...
Was Jonathan.
The younger man who shared David's face.
Thomas leaned closer.
"When was this taken?"
David answered after a long silence.
"Twenty-eight years ago."
Emily looked at him.
"So Jonathan wasn't lying."
"No."
"Who is he?"
David closed his eyes.
"My brother."
Silence filled the carriage.
Emily looked back at the photograph.
"You told me you were an only child."
"I lied."
"Why?"
"Because I believed Jonathan died before you were born."
Margaret slowly shook her head.
"We all believed that."
Emily opened the envelope.
Inside rested a single handwritten page.
The first line immediately caught her attention.
If you are reading this, someone has already betrayed us again.
She continued reading.
Halfway down the page, her breathing stopped.
Her mother had written one sentence in larger letters than the rest.
Never allow Jonathan and David to possess the archive together.
Emily lowered the letter.
Her eyes moved from her father...
May you like
...to the darkness outside the train windows.
She suddenly realized she no longer knew whom she could trust.
