CHAPTER 3 — THE WOMAN WHO DISAPPEARED

Hours later, rain tapped softly against the hospital windows.

Emily's fever had finally begun to drop.

Michael sat beside her bed.

The little girl slept peacefully.

For the first time, he studied her carefully.

The shape of her eyes.

The small dimple in her cheek.

The way her hand curled while sleeping.

She looked exactly like Sarah.

A quiet knock interrupted his thoughts.

His father entered carrying an old envelope.

"I should have given you this years ago."

Michael opened it.

Inside was a stack of letters.

Hundreds of them.

Letters Sarah had written.

Every birthday.

Every Christmas.

Every year Emily grew older.

His hands shook as he read.

Dear Michael,

Emily took her first steps today.

She fell three times and laughed every time.

She has your stubbornness.

Another letter.

Dear Michael,

Emily started school today.

She asked why her father wasn't there.

I told her he would have come if he could.

Michael's vision blurred.

The final letter was different.

It had been written only three months earlier.

Dear Michael,

If you ever read this, please know I never stopped loving you.

But I don't think I have much time left.

The cancer has spread.

Emily deserves to know her father.

Please find her before it's too late.

The letter slipped from his fingers.

Michael looked up slowly.

"Where is Sarah?"

His father's silence gave him the answer.

The old man lowered his head.

"She died four months ago."

Michael broke.

For the first time in years, he cried.

Not for himself.

For the years they lost.

For the future they would never have.

And for the promise he had never gotten the chance to keep.