At the time, his offer had seemed generous.
Family taking care of family.
“What did the letter say?”
“That the company had been acquired.”
“How much?”
She stared at the blanket.
“It didn’t say.”
“But something scared Ryan.”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I showed him the letter.”
My entire body tightened.
“What did he do?”
“He smiled.”
The way she said it made my skin prickle.
“He said it was probably spam. Then he asked if there were any other papers from your father’s office.”
“Were there?”
Her fingers moved slowly over the blanket.
“There was a brown envelope.”
“What was inside?”
“I didn’t know. I’d found it behind the backing of your father’s old desk drawer. He had written my name on the front.”
“What did you do with it?”
“I told Ryan I hadn’t opened it.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
