If he’d been lying, I would see it. And if he hadn’t… then someone else was playing a dangerous game.
I went inside and waited.
Twenty minutes later, the front door burst open.
“Mom! Dad tried to race us and his leg made a clicking noise!”
Daniel followed, laughing — until he noticed me standing by the counter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Girls, go tidy your room,” I said calmly.
They ran upstairs without protest. Once we were alone, I handed him the letter.
He read it slowly, confusion settling across his face. His reaction wasn’t defensive — it was genuinely baffled. That told me more than words could.
“What is this supposed to mean?” he asked.
“I found it inside the couch in the garage.”
“That couch hasn’t been touched in years,” he said.
“I know. But the ink smeared when I touched it. The paper’s new. Someone’s been in our house recently.”
His jaw tightened. “I should’ve known she’d pull something like this.”
My heart skipped. “What are you talking about?”
“She reached out about a month ago,” he admitted quietly. “She said she wanted to see the girls. I told her I needed time to think. I didn’t want to disrupt their lives unless she was serious. She called from a blocked number.”
I tapped the letter. “Well, now she’s not hiding.”
He nodded grimly. “I left the side door unlocked while fixing the mower last week. She must’ve slipped in. But why would she do this?”
“She wants attention,” I said. “So let’s give it to her — on our terms.”
I texted the number and asked her to meet. She agreed.
Two days later, Daniel and I walked into a café together. Susan was already there. I recognized her from an old photo he’d kept for the girls.
When she saw Daniel, her back stiffened.
I placed the letter on the table. “This wasn’t written ten years ago.”
Her eyes flicked to it.
“The couch was buried in webs, but the envelope wasn’t. And the ink still smudges.”
Daniel looked at her, hurt more than angry. “You went into our house?”
