After her guests left, Katherine moved through the lounge, her fingers brushing over the surfaces as she tidied up. She switched off the last light, plunging the first floor into darkness before heading upstairs to her brother’s room.

  She hesitated in the doorway, the starkness of the space confronting her. The room held only the bare essentials: a super-single bed, a bedside drawer, and a desk dominated by his laptop and desktop. There was no trace of warmth, just an eerie sense of sterility that prickled at her.

  Crossing to the closet, she methodically pulled out Seven’s clothes: T-shirts, sweatpants, jeans, underwear, socks, and towels. Each item seemed to whisper a part of her brother’s routine life, now heavy with absence. She found a backpack and rolled the garments tightly, fitting them in as neatly as puzzle pieces. It was a small act, but it grounded her, offering a fleeting sense of order.

  With the task done, she slipped out, her footsteps quiet against the hardwood floor.

  Entering her room, her breath caught as the light illuminated a space laden with memories. The walls were adorned with photographs of her childhood, her parents’ smiling faces frozen in time. Everything was where it had always been—mementos of before and after her mother’s passing, echoes of laughter and loss. Her mother’s presence lingered, as palpable as the heaviness of the guilt she now carried. The things Ami had said about her father replayed in her head like a song with a haunting refrain.

  She moved mechanically as if driven by an unseen force. The closet door groaned as she opened it, revealing the tucked-away safe. Her hand trembled against the cool metal of the keypad. When the safe clicked open, a surge of nerves rushed through her. She pulled out the documents inside, spreading them across the floor as she sifted through them, the crisp rustling of paper cutting through the stillness. And then she found it—the letter.

  Her heart pounded as she tore the envelope open, the creased paper unfolding in her hands. Her father’s familiar handwriting greeted her as her eyes raced over the words:

  My dearest Katherine,

  Dad has been riddled with guilt ever since you left. I never realized that what I did with Seven made you feel I preferred boys over girls. I thought I’d wait for you to return when you were ready. But I found out that I have late-stage lung cancer, and so I’ve entrusted him to search for you after I’ve passed. I don’t want to endure my pain and suffering anymore. I miss your mother so much; I want to be reunited with her. Please forgive me for not waiting for your return.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  I leave this letter and all our family assets to you because you are my only biological child. We adopted Seven shortly after you were born.

  Your mother had you in her 40s. It nearly took her life. Seeing her poor health, my high-risk job, and that we were both already getting on in years, we were worried that there’d be no one to care for you if we were no longer around. But God had other plans.

  We never contemplated adopting. It was a coincidence that we met Seven at the senior living community where your grandmother had been living. She was eager to meet her only grandchild, so we brought you to meet her on that fateful day. You were almost four months old at the time.

  When we arrived, we saw him playing Go with your grandmother. He was an orphan from Baby Safe Haven, about a mile from where your grandmother stayed. It was a weekly affair for the children to visit and interact with the seniors living there.

  According to her, Seven had just learned how to play Go from her, and he’d beaten her from the get-go. She was very taken with him.

  When she carried you in her arms, he looked at you curiously and asked if he could be your brother. That question got my gears turning. I told him he could if he’d protect and care for you. He broke into the biggest smile I’d ever seen on a four-year-old and promised without hesitation. So, we decided to adopt him.

  Everything I made him endure since then, I made him do it out of my love for you. I realize now that I should’ve shown my love in another way. It’s too late for regrets, but I still want to say that I’m truly sorry.

  As for adopting Seven, it was the best decision I ever made. I can leave in peace knowing he’ll do what he promised me. He even paid off the mortgage just before he joined the Special Forces. I don’t know where he got the money; he said it was work he’d done for the Pentagon. He didn’t want me to be burdened by loans, and he wanted to ensure that you’d at least have a roof over your head if anything happened to either of us.

  So, my dearest daughter, my last wish is that you’ll not resent Seven and still regard him as your brother after knowing the truth.

  Love,

  Dad

  ......

  Katherine’s tears dripped onto the letter, her father’s handwriting blurring as her vision clouded. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, but the ache in her chest only deepened. His voice echoed in her head—the love, the remorse—everything she wished she could undo. Her father’s confession pressed down on her, threatening to suffocate her beneath what could never be mended. Alas, there was no medicine for regret.

  Then, a sharp ping cut through the silence. Her phone screen lit up.

  She recognized the number, but her heart skipped a beat.

  Fingers hovering over the screen, she stared at the glow, curious.

  Why was he messaging her at this moment?