Chapter 20 - The Unopened Package
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I walked inside to the front foyer, where a courier in a brown uniform was standing at the open door, holding a small wooden box wrapped in heavy brown paper.
"Mrs. Clara Walker?" the courier asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"This was delivered to our central office this morning with instructions for personal delivery on this exact date," the man said, handing me a digital clipboard to sign.
"Who sent it?" I asked, signing my name.
"No return name on the slip, ma'am," he said, handing me the box before turning back down the driveway.
I carried the wooden box into Ethan’s study, setting it onto his mahogany desk. Logan walked in a moment later, holding Noah in his arms while Lily crawled behind him.
"What is that?" Logan asked, frowning slightly.
"A package," I said, using a brass letter opener to slice through the heavy brown paper wrapping.
Inside the paper was a polished mahogany box locked with an intricate brass combination lock.
Taped to the top of the box was a folded white envelope with my name written across the front in dark blue ink.
My heart stopped beating for a full second.
The handwriting on the envelope was unmistakable.
It was Ethan’s handwriting.
With trembling fingers, I opened the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper along with a small silver keycard.
I read the handwritten words aloud, my voice dropping into a shocked whisper:
Clara, my love.
If you are reading this, the men who hunted us believe I am dead.
The crash outside Boise was staged with Thomas Sterling's help to draw your father and Victor Vance into exposing their entire network.
I have been recovering in a private clinic overseas under protective federal custody.
The keycard inside this box opens the door to Room 204 at the Bellevue Hotel in Seattle.
I am coming home today.
Look out your window.
My hand shook so hard the letter fell onto the desk.
Logan rushed to the study window, pulling back the heavy curtains.
Parked at the end of our driveway, sitting under the warm afternoon sun, was a dark blue sedan.
May you like
The driver's door opened slowly.
A tall man in a navy sweater stepped out into the sunlight, looking up toward the study window withEthan’s dark, loving eyes.
