The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 232

Chapter 209: The Letter-1

Bella POV

The envelope sat on the kitchen table for hours before I touched it.

Caleb had brought it in with the morning mail. He read the sender’s name on the forwarding label and set it in front of me without a word. Then he poured two coffees, put one by me, and sat down across the table.

Tom was at school. Grace was outside in the garden with Nadia. We could hear her little screams through the open window every few minutes because she didn’t like walking on the uneven grass.

I looked at the envelope. It was heavy cream paper with neat typing: Marchetti Group, Lyon, France.

The letter had been sent to my old office at Hart Worldwide first, then forwarded here. That meant he found me through my business records, not my personal information. He looked for the company first and worked backward. That told me how his mind worked.

I picked up the envelope.

The letter inside was a single page. It was handwritten in French, with an English translation typed on a second sheet.

The handwriting was neat and slightly slanted as I read the English version.

Dear Isabella,

I am writing this letter to you in French, but I have included an English translation because I do not know which language you prefer, and I do not want to make assumptions.

For the past years, I believed your mother, Elaine Voss, had simply moved on with her life. Our time together in Geneva was brief, but it meant a great deal to me. Then, her letters suddenly stopped, and my own letters to her went unanswered. I did not understand why. I was actually one day away from boarding a train back to Geneva to find her when my father’s lawyers called me away to Lyon for an urgent family crisis. By the time that trouble was resolved and I could think clearly again, her silence felt like a wall I could not break down. I assumed she had chosen to leave me behind. I lived with that painful thought for three decades.

ľ

I never knew the truth until weeks ago.

I was sitting at my desk here in Lyon, reading an international business magazine. I turned the page and saw a profile piece on the CEO of Hart Worldwide. When I looked at the photograph, I stopped breathing.

The woman in the photo had Elaine’s eyes. Her exact eyes, set in a face that also looked like my own. I sat with that photograph for three weeks before I could think clearly enough to act.

I hired a private firm to check my suspicions. They looked into the past and found the dates, the financial records, and the legal documents. Everything matches perfectly. I now know that Elaine passed away, and I know that she left a daughter.

I am not writing this to make demands on you. I will not use heavy words like family or claims. I am writing simply because you have a right to know that I exist, and you have the absolute right to decide what you

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want to do next. If you wish to ignore this letter, twill respect your choice.

Your mother was the most honest person I ever met. If you are anything like her, I think you will want the truth, no matter what it costs.

If you wish to contact me, you can reach me directly through the details below.

Phone: +33 [Number]

sss: [Private sss Address]

Sincerely,

Sebastien Marchetti

I folded the letter along the creases and put it back on the table.

Caleb was watching me. “What does he say?”

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